Sakura's Knight
by Udon
Summary: AU OOC  Every girl dreams of the day a knight will come to save them. Can classmate Naruto warm her heart? Ch 12: The Seed of Love, last Ch, Lemon. Read at own risk.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Naruto character's belong to Kishimoto Masashi

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><p><strong>Sakura's Knight<strong>

**Written By Udon**

****Full summary:** **(AU+OOC) 16 year old Sakura was the school's Ice Princess, she emitted a cold aura that scared most people away. Although she was rich, she was not happy. Ever since a young age she disliked people and hated girls. She needed a house keeper and her classmate Naruto needed money. Hence, their sad love story begins.

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><p><strong>Pairing: <strong>Sakura and Naruto

**Rating: **Pg-13 years, some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes.

**Genre: **Romance, Angst, Drama

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Naruto's First Day At Work<strong>

Sakura was heading to the school's cafeteria by her self just like any other day. She was striding along the corridor until a certain blonde haired boy stopped her for a brief moment, this had changed her usual routine. She stared at the blonde haired boy from head to toe who had just passed her a piece of paper that read '**Work Wanted.**' Her heart skipped a beat because standing in front of her was a boy that resembled her beloved brother. She really wanted to stretch out her hand and touch his face.

"Deidara is that you?" She whispered with hollow eyes.

Naruto was surprised that the school's ice maiden actually spoke to him. He stared at her wavy long pink hair that stretched down to envelop her heavenly endowed figure. His male testosterone made his heart rate accelerate because standing in front of him was the most prettiest girl he had ever seen in his life. He held his breath for a long time before he realised he needed to breathe again. He quickly responded to her question.

"No I'm not Deidara," He answered.

_No I'm not..._

His words repeatedly rang in her head, it had made her feel colder than usual.

She shook her head to shake away her coldness and asked, "What are you able to do?"

"I can cook, clean, mow the lawn, act as your body guard and look here," said an excited Naruto.

Sakura looked down to examine Naruto Uzumaki's bike licence. Born on 10th October, which meant he would be turning 17 this year and was in the same grade as her.

"You have a bike?"

"Nope, that's why I want to work to save up for a motorcycle."

"I see... How much do you want to be paid per an hour?"

"I dunno. I have never worked before."

"I will pay you $30 an hour, give me your mobile." Sakura saved her number and address.

"Ok."

Naruto was thinking how generous rich people were and started seeing dollar signs in his head.

"This is my number, come to this address within 30 minutes of my call. If I find out that you give out my personal information to other people, I will no longer need you to work for me. I will have a two week trial with you."

"Understood!"

While this conversation was going on the school's number one prince and president of the student council Sasuke Uchiha was clenching his fist. Sasuke was every girl's dream of an ideal boyfriend. Although he was nice to everyone, no one has ever heard of him having a girlfriend. Sasuke was secretly jealous of the blonde haired boy as he had always dreamed of getting Sakura's mobile number.

"I must get her number off him," whispered Sasuke to himself. He started to read a piece of paper he found on the ground that Naruto was handing out. 'Work Wanted.'

'Interesting.' He thought happily.

_..._

_**Sasuke's Flashback**_

_One year ago, Sasuke was happy to be in the same high school as Sakura. _

_Sakura was walking with ear phones in her ear before Sasuke grabbed her by her shoulder._

_Sakura turned her head and spoke angrily, "Don't touch me so callously. Do I know you?"_

_Sasuke was shocked. How could she have never heard of the brilliant and good looking Sasuke Uchiha. Every girl in this school would rave frantically about him. They all dreamed of the day that almighty Sasuke would talk to them. The Sakura in Sasuke's memory was happy, kind and caring. He wondered what has caused Sakura to change. _

"_Ah-hem, I am Sasuke Uchiha a member of the student council. You're Sakura Haruno correct?"_

"_Yes and what brings you here?"_

"_You haven't submitted your work experience form which was due a week ago."_

"_I seem to have lost the form, do you have a spare?"_

"_Yes." Sasuke pulled out a form from his bag._

_Sakura grabbed a pen and quickly scribbled some words and handed it back to Sasuke._

_Sasuke looked down at the paper. Future ambition: Musician. Work experience preference: 1) Orchestra 2) Music industry 3) Piano tutor at a music school. Sasuke's heart fluttered, just as expected from his dream girl. A girl who could play music. Sasuke sighed all he could afford was a guitar and free lessons from a family friend._

_By the time Sasuke had looked up Sakura had already disappeared into a corner._

_..._

_The next day when Sasuke saw Sakura in the corridor he thought maybe he could ask her to become his friend._

"_Hi, can we-" announced Sasuke but before he could finish his sentence Sakura had walked right past him. Sasuke didn't want to give up so he ran past Sakura and placed two hands on her shoulder. Except he was so nervous his hands had slipped down and now it was on top of her breasts._

_Sakura looked down at the hands on her chest and stared up at her perpetrator. Her hands moved automatically to his face._

_SLAP!_

"_Please don't ever touch me again. What are you, a pervert?"_

"_Sorry." _

_Sasuke distractedly thought how good her breasts had felt. It was so soft. This was expected of his dream girl to have developed into a beautiful woman._

_Sakura walked past him and once again Sasuke was staring at the image of her back. Sasuke was so embarrassed at what he had done; he had never approached Sakura since that day._

...

**Beep beep**

Naruto looked at his text message.

# Meet me at my house at 4PM don't be late! #

'Yes, I can feel the money fanning my face,' thought Naruto. Now that he thught about it, the ice maiden was actually a very beautiful girl. He got paid to work for such a beauty; God must be looking after him.

# Ok, see you after school. #

...

After the last school bell rang, Sasuke noticed Naruto grinning and skipping happily along the corridor. Sasuke wanted to punch his happy face off. A smirk appeared on Sasuke's face as he thought of a brilliant plan. He was going to follow Naruto to see if he could lead him to Sakura's house.

Sasuke was never able to follow Sakura after school because she had her own personal chauffer. He was super poor and lived in a rundown house so catching a taxi was out of the question. He had never thought of getting work as he was actually a very lazy person. Instead of wasting time working, he spent most of his time studying in the hopes that one day he'll become someone successful.

He followed Naruto to the front of a modestly big house. He watched Naruto ringing the door bell and out came Sakura who opened the door for him. If Sakura was the one opening the door then perhaps there were no other maids. This had meant that she would be home alone with that goofy guy and Sasuke was not happy with this idea.

'I am not going to let this happen, perhaps there is another way of getting inside this house so that I can monitor their interactions.' He thought.

Sasuke walked towards the back of the house and in between him and the back yard was a very high fence. He studied the sharp looking spikes at the top, and concluded that climbing over it could lead to a disaster. Sasuke did not want to be stuck on top of those unfriendly spikes. He decided to look for an opened window instead.

...

Naruto looked at the address on his phone and the house in front of him. He looked at the address a second time unsure whether he was at the right house. 'Just as expected of rich people' thought Naruto as he studied the three storey house towering high over his head. He pressed the door bell half expecting a maid to open the door but was surprised when Sakura stood in front of him.

"Hi," said Naruto confused.

"Come in. You are five minutes late by the way."

"Sorry, I seem to have a bad sense of direction," explained Naruto.

"I don't have maids because I dislike girls. I like my privacy and my father lives in a big mansion so don't ask me any questions. You can probably start by cleaning around."

"Ok."

"I usually order take away food but perhaps you can cook for me tonight. I have left some money on the kitchen table for you to go out and buy some ingredients."

"Ok."

"I'll just be upstairs."

The instant Naruto stepped into the kitchen he smelt a really bad smell. He looked at the sink which was filled with unwashed dishes. He looked down at the bin which was overflowing with rubbish. It was as if she had not cleared her rubbish for weeks in order for the foul smell to have developed.

'God how does she live?' He wondered.

Naruto quickly opened some windows so that some fresh air could come into the kitchen. He cleared the sink that was clogged with dirty dishes and he also threw out all the stinky rubbish. By the time he had mopped the entire downstairs which was all tiled it was about 5:30pm. He opened all the windows on the first level to help the tiles dry quicker. He grabbed the money on the kitchen table and went out of the house to get the grocery.

...

Sasuke had circled the house for over 20 times but he could not find a single window opened, even the ones on the second level of the house were closed. One window did open but in order for him to get to it he must climb over the spiky fence, which he had already ruled out. Sasuke was about to give up when he noticed all the windows in the first level became opened.

"Yes! This is my chance," shouted Sasuke happily.

When Sasuke was busy climbing into a window he did not notice Naruto heading out of the house. As he entered the house Sasuke nearly slipped as he wasn't expecting the floor to be wet. His ears were alert in case Naruto was to walk past, he didn't want to get caught so soon. _Stealth mode on!_

'This is my chance to see how Sakura's house would look from the inside.' Sasuke thought. 'I'll just have a quick look and then I'll head home.'

After looking at all the rooms on the first level, Sasuke crept slowly and soundlessly up the carpeted steps of the second level. He quietly opened the first room that he came into contact with and was unable to believe his eyes. He pinched his cheeks to check whether he was dreaming. 'I must be in heaven,' he thought.

Sakura was sleeping soundlessly in a bath tub filled with bubbles and only her face washer was covering the view to her voluptuous chest area. Sasuke realised if she was to open her eyes at this instant, any chance of a relationship between the two of them would be utterly and completely destroyed. A breeze from the opened windows in the first level came into contact with Sakura, which caused her to sneeze.

Wide green coloured eyes stared directly into the blurry image of her assaulter.

"ARGH! Pervert Naruto. Get out!" Cried Sakura.

Sasuke didn't have to be told twice to run out of the bathroom and he slammed the door behind him at once. 'Wait' he thought, 'Naruto? Could it be that Sakura is short sighted and thus was unable to see him?'

'Phew! I better get out of here,' thought Sasuke and he quickly climbed over the window from where he had entered.

...

Naruto went to the nearest super market which was 10 minutes away. He grabbed a few ingredients to make an ebi tempura curry dish. When Naruto returned to Sakura's house, he realised he did not have any keys. The first thing that came into his mind was to ring the door bell.

Sakura was really anxious, she wondered if Naruto had seen her naked body underneath the bubbles. Sasuke sure did, as most of the bubbles had already dissolved. The image that remained in Sasuke's mind would most likely reappear in his dreams tonight.

'Unforgivable,' thought Sakura, 'I am totally firing this guy!' She was amazed that Naruto had the nerve to ring her door bell. She put on her glasses and stormed downstairs to open the door.

"You dare come back after what you have seen?" She yelled angrily

"What have I seen? I don't understand why you are getting all angry." He asked innocently.

"You saw me naked!"

"WHAT? How could I have seen you naked when I was cleaning your house and only just now came back from the super market?"

"But... There was someone standing inside my toilet just a while ago."

"I swear to you Sakura, since the moment I first stepped into your house I have not once walked past the first level."

"Then who could it be?" She wondered.

Just as Sakura was saying that she noticed some black footprints on her glistening clean tiled floor. The footprints disappeared after the third step on the carpet as the shoes would have dried after contact. Sakura could not believe her eyes, while Naruto was out shopping an intruder had climbed into her house.

"I see."

Sakura remarked and wondered how those footprints got there.

"Yes, I am really sorry I had left the windows opened while I was out." Bowed Naruto, "I am relieved that you weren't hurt, I understand that I have failed you. If you want me to leave this instant I will."

"No, stay. Be my guard tonight. I will pay you." She said. Naruto reminded her too much of her brother and she wanted to explore the possibility of making a friend. _A friend?_

"Eh? Ok." Naruto thought of getting paid while sleeping was a very tempting offer.

"Good. You can go and cook something now." She grunted.

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><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 1.

Ch 2: Her Beating Heart


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: Her Beating Heart**

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><p>The time was 6:15pm when Naruto started preparing for dinner.<p>

Usually it took Naruto a little over an hour to cook the ebi tempura curry. After 30 mins of cooking the vegetables they have started to soften so he left it on low heat to simmer. The rice was ready at this stage and all Naruto needed to do was deep fry the prawns to complete the dish. A beautiful aroma was developing and the kitchen was filled with a loud crackling noise of the prawns being fried. _Golden brown and delicious, yosh!_

At 7:30pm dinner was ready and Naruto even spent the time to decorate the dining table with some flowers. Naruto was about to step up the stairs but stopped as he saw Sakura half way down the stairs. Sakura walked right past him and went up to the fridge to get herself a glass of juice. She sat down on the dining table and started eating quietly.

"Soooo.. do you like it?"

"It's ok but I've tasted better." She answered.

'This spoilt and ungrateful girl, I'd like to see you cook something.' He thought.

"Do you mind if I eat with you?" Asked Naruto.

"I do, perhaps you could start with washing up while I eat."

Naruto squinted his left eye and thought, 'Treating me like some kind of servant. Think about the money Naruto, think about the money.' He walked up to the dishes and began washing them really loudly but Sakura did not seem to care. She turned up her stereo sound system and calmly ate her food.

'My ebi tempuras are getting cold,' thought Naruto.

"By the way, today is Tuesday. I don't get my pocket money until next Monday."

'What? I have to wait an entire week. I want to strangle her now for not telling me this earlier.' He thought.

"Ok."

"Thanks for the meal."

Sakura was about to walk off but Naruto shouted, "Wait! Where am I going to sleep tonight? Can I shower here? What about a change of clothing."

"Finish your meal and wait for me on the second floor. There are no bathrooms on the ground floor. I think you can sleep in the room next to mine, that way if an intruder does break in you can quickly come to my rescue."

"Ok."

...

Naruto looked at his soggy cold prawns resting on top of his curry. He should have guessed the ice maiden wouldn't have had the heart to let him eat on the same table. He should've left the prawns on the side to bake or re-fry but at the moment he was too exhausted and hungry to care how the food would taste. He simply microwaved his dish so that it was hot to eat.

After a couple of bites of his ebi tempura curry, Naruto realised 'ok' was an overstatement to his dish. The prawns that he had bought on special tasted mouldy and floury. He had probably put one too many of the curry seasoning cubes, because the curry had tasted overly salty. 'I have failed her again,' he realised.

After cleaning the last plate he just ate from, Naruto was really busting to go to the toilet. He knew she told him to wait at the top of the steps but he could not just wait anymore. He entered the first room he saw which was her toilet. He unzipped his pants and was about to release his bladder when the door suddenly opened.

A pair of wide green eyes underneath a pair of glasses stared into a pair of shocked sea blue eyes. Sakura was so surprised that she had dropped her brother's clothing on the ground. She was about to just leave the clothing in the bathroom and call Naruto, but he had already beaten her to it.

"Stop staring just get out, please! I need to pee."

"Sorry."

Sakura quickly turned her head and could not believe at what she had just done. If she was any closer she would have been able to see his private part. 'Thank goodness I didn't,' she thought. Sakura's heart suddenly began to beat faster as she felt really nervous. She didn't know how to socialise with men let alone be stuck with one for an entire night.

'_What have I done?' _she thought.

Naruto opened the bathroom door and was shocked to see Sakura still standing there. He noticed that Sakura's head was pointing towards the ground and her cheeks were a flushed shade of pink.

"Look, just forget about what you just saw, it was an accident, these things happen all the time. Are those clothes on the ground for me?"

"Yes."

"Is it ok if I take my time in the bathroom?"

"Take your time."

"I'm sorry the food wasn't very nice by the way."

"I've tasted worst..."

Remembered Sakura with a smile, a flash back of her brother cooking some burnt ebi tempuras crossed her mind.

"Eh! You have a really nice smile." Complimented Naruto, it was his first time seeing her smile since he had arrived at her house.

Sakura walked off as she was not used to compliments, she did not know how to respond to him. Naruto wondered why there were no locks to the bathroom; he kept a mental note to remember to install locks the next time he worked here. Naruto took his time in the bathroom and he spent half that time on top of the toilet seat.

_The prawns didn't go down too well. -.-_

When he had finished his business on the toilet he was surprised that he had run out of toilet paper. Upon finding some rolls, he also noticed a bottle of male cologne inside a drawer. The perfume was kept in a small shiny blue bottle. After taking a shower, he decided to spray some on himself to try it out. '_Whoa, this stuff smells good!' h_e thought and decided to keep it as a souvenir from working here.

'Perhaps?' he thought, 'this perfume must belong to her _ex-boyfriend_, except she didn't look like the type that has ever dated before.'

Sakura was feeling more tired than usual so she decided to sleep early. She held onto a picture frame that was usually kept on the table next to her beside. She stared at the blonde haired man's happy face and whispered, "good night brother, I hope you are looking after me in heaven."

_It was a tiring day for Sakura, so she had quickly fallen asleep._

...

It was only 9:00PM and it was way too early for Naruto to go to sleep so he thought, '_it wouldn't hurt if I looked around the house right?_' Watching TV wasn't an option as that would make too much noise and wake Sakura in the process. Naruto had a sudden urge to explore the house. He wondered why Sakura needed such a big house when she was living by herself.

Naruto crept slowly up the second carpeted plight of steps. He decided not to turn any lights on in case Sakura caught him sneaking about. He used his mobile as a torch and entered an opened room filled with many guitars and sound equipment. There was an electric guitar, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and amplifiers. There was also a drum kit and an electric piano.

'Sakura or whoever that used to live up here must like playing in a band.' He thought.

He studied some picture frames on the wall and noticed a much younger Sakura with shorter hair. She was smiling very happily and beautifully next to a boy with blonde hair up to his shoulders. The boy was very good looking and could easily become a successful pop idol. There were also pictures of an equally beautiful girl with long black hair. The boy and girl were leaning against each other so Naruto assumed they must be going out.

'This man must be her brother. What a lovely couple. I wonder what happened to them. I want to know what happened to Sakura even more.' Thought Naruto curiously.

Naruto walked towards the other room and nearly tripped over a guitar in the dark. If he did the noise would be enough to wake Sakura and his little exploration would have come to an end. He looked at the king sized bed and was a little confused to see a lump in the middle. He wondered why the bed cover was not flat. What exactly could be lying underneath?

Naruto was standing next to the lump; he pulled the covers down to reveal a bandaged zombie like person. The bandage had red coloured blood markings. 'Is it alive?' He wondered. He gave the person a little push and realised it was too light to be real. It was a man sized doll wrapped in bandage.

'What kind of sick joke is this? _Sakura has a very sick hobby_. No wonder she is the ice maiden that never talks!' He thought.

Suddenly a lightning struck and illuminated the room, which was then followed by an incredibly loud roar of thunder. Naruto wasn't usually scared of thunder but the bandaged toy really_ grossed_ him out. When another lightning struck, Naruto thought he saw an outline of a woman in a white dress. He couldn't make out her face as it was covered over by her hair. When the thunder roared again, he felt two arms wrapped around his neck.

_The feeling petrified him and he felt like the thing was able to see him but he was not able to see it._

"Brother have you come home to see me?" Said the thing creepily.

Naruto thought the thing was going to choke him and take him to the Netherlands. His instant reaction was to push the thing aside; the thing fell backwards and bumped its head against a cupboard. Naruto shone his mobile light towards it and realised the thing had long tresses of pink hair.

"Sakura?" Whispered Naruto.

"Ow. My head hurts. Huh Where am I? Who are you? What are you doing in my house? HELP!" Sakura was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Naruto was scared that her screaming would eventually wake the neighbours up so he put one arm around Sakura's waist and another hand to cover her mouth. He was trying really hard to hold her down because Sakura was struggling very hard.

"It's me Naruto. I cooked dinner for you a while ago remember?" He whispered gently.

Sakura smelt the familiar perfume scent of her brother and calmed down a little. She tried to remember who Naruto was and suddenly her mind clicked.

"Cleaner boy."

Sakura realised the awkward position they were in so she angrily demanded, "will you let go of me? I don't like where your hands are touching!"

Naruto quickly released his grasp, "Sorry."

Naruto blushed slightly as he realised Sakura wasn't wearing a bra underneath her night dress. The soft sensation of her body was very pleasant. A lightning flashed to light the room for another second and Naruto was able to see her creamy coloured arms and legs, her skin looked smooth and delicate. She appeared really desirable in that small flimsy dress and her long white neck seemed so tempting to kiss.

_His heart fluttered and his male hormones was driving him crazy._

"Where am I? Why are you here?" She asked.

"I think this is your brother's room. You must have been sleep walking." He replied.

"And why the hell are you up here?" She demanded.

"I'm sorry I was just curious." He answered and added, "By the way why do you have a bandaged doll?"

"That's none of your business! I'm going back to my room and don't you dare step foot into my room!"

'He must think I am a crazy psycho now.' She thought.

'I should rethink about working here.' He thought.

The two of them went back into their separate rooms.

...

Around a little past midnight Naruto heard a scream followed by a whaling series of cries. Could the intruder have broken in again? Was he inside of Sakura's room? 'I hope she's ok,' he thought. Naruto quickly rushed inside her room without knocking the door. He could not see any intruders; rather Sakura seemed to be having a nightmare.

He walked towards her and noticed her eyes were closed, she was crying in her sleep. He tried making out what she was saying, "Brother, don't leave me. Don't leave me!"

'Where is her brother going to?' He thought.

"Brother don't die, please don't die. I don't want to be alone!"

'Die? How did he die? Is it somehow related to that bandaged doll?' He wondered.

Naruto didn't know how to comfort her so he entered her bed and gave her a hug in the hopes of calming her down. He grabbed a tissue from her bedside table and wiped away her tears. He brushed her silky long pink hair away from her face. Next to him was a girl he knew hardly anything about but he was really curious about her past. What could have happened to have caused her to become the way she was now?

An unconscious Sakura grabbed the warm arm and placed it between her breasts. The palm of Naruto's hand was cupping the side of her face. Naruto didn't hate where his arm was, in fact it kind of felt really nice and comforting but he didn't want to imagine how she would react when she woke up. _God it's going to be hard to sleep tonight._

The next morning, the glistening rays of light entering Sakura's bedroom made her eyes flinch. She slowly opened her eyes and thought something was strange. She felt warmer than usual, there seemed to be a heavy object wrapping on top of her. Her vision was very blurry so she put the heavy object close to her face.

'A hand? What? How? Who's?' Many questions flooded in her mind.

Not only was his hand wrapped around her, his leg was also over her warm body. His usual sleeping style was wrapping his body around a pillow; at the moment his unconscious body had mistaken Sakura's body to be his pillow.

Sakura was trapped in a very solid grip, rather than screaming just yet she was curious to see his sleeping face. Other than her brother's sleeping face she had never seen a boy's sleeping face. Sakura pressed her face close to Naruto's so she could make the outlines of his features.

Naruto had really long soft looking brown coloured eye lashes and his mat of hair was a mixture of brownish gold. His hair framed the outline of his long _bishonen_ face really well. Sakura wanted to run her one free hand across his smooth wavy hair. He had a long slender nose and his mouth was thin and curved upwards. Naruto was indeed a very handsome man. Sakura's heart was pumping faster than usual and she couldn't describe the feeling she was going through. She had never felt this way about any guy.

_Her heart skipped a beat and fluttered._

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><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 2

Ch 3: Her Melting Ice Heart


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: Her Melting Ice Heart**

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><p>Sakura's heart was beating really fast, although she was extremely blind, she could see Naruto's face clearly a few centimetres away from her own. Her heart was pounding and she tried really hard to hold her breath to not breathe onto Naruto's face. She couldn't hold her breath any longer so she let out a warm quick<em> gasp<em>.

The warm air caused Naruto to shift his head and by accident his lips landed on hers.

"Hnn.." Moaned Naruto in his sleep.

Sakura placed a finger on the warm area he had just kissed. '_No_,' she thought. She was not capable of love. She did not know anything about Naruto except his name, birth date and phone number. How could she fall in love with a complete stranger just because he briefly resembled her brother? This boy in front of her was only here because she had paid him to. She could never expect him to love her.

_She did not even know whether he was already in a relationship._

She jammed her elbow hard onto Naruto's chest.

"Wake up you moron, why are you on my bed? Did I give permission for you to come into my room? On top of that you have the guts to sleep on my bed!" She screamed.

"Ow," Cried Naruto, 'Stupid alarm.' Where is the off button?

"Quit it, you stupid alarm. Wait until I get my hands on you," Shouted Naruto as he tried to find the alarm, his palm patted on a soft patch of hair. He slowly opened his eyes and realised Sakura was staring angrily back at him.

_He he, he smiled innocently._

She kicked him in the stomach which sent him rolling off the bed. Naruto's head bumped into the corner of her bedside table. 'Ow! Why do I have to wake up like this? I should have known, I should have known.' He chanted.

"Took you long enough to wake up! Do you think I am your pillow?"

"And if I had said yes?"

_She didn't answer him but gave him a dirty look._

"Couldn't you have woken me up in a nicer way?" He asked.

"No! Who do you think you are? You're just a cleaner boy I hired." She replied.

"Is this how you treat people? I was _only _taking care of you because you were crying in your sleep. Do you not know how to say please and thank you. If you keep talking like this, nobody would want to be your friend!" He shouted back at her.

"God dammit, I don't know how much longer I can take this crap from you!" He muttered and continued giving Sakura his unimpressed stare.

_Sakura didn't want to speak like this but her words had always came out harsh no matter how hard she had tried._

'Please don't leave me, I don't want to be like this,' she cried in her thoughts.

Naruto was about to head out the door when he noticed a tear rolling down her eye.

Sakura had never cried in front of anyone for a long time, but his words had hurt her. She couldn't control the tears that were rolling quickly down her eyes. She hurriedly turned her head around so that he would not be able to see her tears falling down her face.

Naruto realised he had said something he did not mean to. He was angry to have woken up in such a way that he had forgotten how fragile Sakura was. _A bump has grown on his head... _He understood the ice maiden was not made out of ice and could crumble as easily as any other girl. He leaned forward to press his chest to her back, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

If her heart could melt away it did in this second. His hold, his warmth, his kindness was so addictive; she wondered if he could grow to love her. She had only known him for one day but she felt so fitting to be next to him. _She felt like she had known him for an eternity._ Could he be kind enough to protect her from this harsh and uncaring world?

"I'm sorry too," she whispered.

"It's OK. If you are sad you can let it out. Whoa it's 8:30am already! I think we're going to be late."

"Ok," she replied as he got up.

She wanted to open her heart up just a small fraction so she grabbed his shirt and asked softly, "Can I be your friend?"

"Huh? Of course, let's get ready already!"

...

The both of them quickly got dressed in their school uniform and rushed out the front door. The chauffeur was already waiting outside with a cigarette in his mouth. The driver stared at the two teenagers with a smirk, no wonder it had taken her so long. He smothered his fag and opened the car door for Sakura to step inside.

"Naruto let me give you a ride to school." She offered.

"Ah ok, I thought you would never ask."

Sakura looked at him shyly and asked, "Will you be free after school tomorrow? Can I buy some more of your time?"

"Sure, I don't have anything on. Where would you like to go?"

"Meet me at the gates after school. I'll take you to see someone important to me. We'll take the public transport. Zetsu, I won't need you for tomorrow afternoon."

"Ok," replied the driver.

Sakura and Naruto made it inside the gates just on time, any minute later they would both be considered late.

...

From Sasuke's window seat, he could see the school gates clearly. In fact he saw the both of them step out of the car and he also watched the both of them rushing past the school gates. His fists clenched once again.

'That bastard,' he cursed.

Sasuke felt that the distance between Sakura and him had become further as she became closer with Naruto. He couldn't believe _that prick_ was allowed to spend the night with his beloved. He needed to think of a plan fast to break the two apart. If only he could find Naruto's weakness and perhaps embarrass him in front of her.

Sasuke's image of Sakura from four years ago when he was 12 was slowly disappearing.

...

**_Sasuke's Flashback_**

_Sasuke's mother had saved up really hard from sewing garments in a clothing factory. Her beautiful long hands that once played the piano have become rough and protruded with veins due to her overuse._

_It was his birthday and his mother's gift to him was a ticket to an amusement park. He had always dreamed of going on the rides of a theme park. He was really jealous of other kids who could just go whenever they felt like it._

_"I'm sorry Sasuke. I only saved enough for one ticket. Do you think you could go with your friends?"_

_Sasuke didn't have many friends because some mean kids at his elementary school had made fun of him for being poor. He didn't want to ask his only friend Shikamaru who was equally as poor. He didn't want to waste the ticket either so he went by himself._

_Although alone, 12 year old Sasuke was really happy. He went early in the morning to escape the crowds. He watched all the shows and went on every single ride that was available. He went on the roller coaster for over 7 times to feel the thrill of his heart beating faster just before the slope._

_He sat down for a rest but tears suddenly began to fall on his cheeks. It was past 3pm and he had not eaten at all. He could not afford any of the food from the theme park. He hated how he did not have a father. He hated being poor. He hated being teased at school and most of all he hated spending his birthday alone. He should not have come to this theme park after all. This was what he had originally thought until he met her._

_She was like an angel._

_..._

_"Why are you crying? Did you lose your mum?" asked a sweet voice._

_Sasuke gazed up into the smile of a happy young girl with pink hair. She placed a tissue gently under his eyes to wipe away his tears._

_"I'm not lost!" He answered._

_"Why are you crying then?"_

_"I'm just unhappy, my friend wasn't able to come today so I am all alone. I'm also a little hungry."_

_"Would you like to eat my hot chips? Here."_

_She handed her hot chips to Sasuke._

_He ate it hungrily and before he could say thanks the chip box was empty._

_"Oh you must be very hungry, what's your name by the way?" She asked._

_"Sasuke Uchiha, thank you for your chips."_

_"I'm Sakura Haruno. Don't worry about the chips, it's very cheap. Would you like me to be your friend for today?"_

_'Can there really be such kind people?' wondered Sasuke. He nodded eagerly._

_Sakura glanced at her watch and said, "This theme park closes at 4pm. I think if we line up now, we can go on one more ride. Which ride would you like to go on?"_

_Sasuke looked straight ahead at the Ferris wheel, "That one!"_

_"Oh I wanted to ride that one. I heard if you make a wish at the top of the Ferris wheel it will come true. Here." Sakura explained as she extended her hand to Sasuke._

_Sasuke clutched the small pair of warm hands and stood up. The two walked hand in hand and waited for the Ferris wheel._

_"Last ten rides," shouted the operator._

_..._

_Sakura and Sasuke was the second last pair to go on the Ferris wheel. Time felt as if it was moving quicker than usual. Sasuke wished time would stop so that he could remain holding her hand. He sat across Sakura and rather than staring at the beautiful scenery, he focused on her beautiful sincere green eyes._

_"Can I tell you a secret?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's my birthday today." Said Sasuke._

_She stood up to sit next to Sasuke, "Aw you should have told me, I could have gotten you a toy."_

_"There is something you can give me."_

_"What's that?" She asked._

_"You have to close your eyes first."_

_She closed her beautiful green eyes._

_The ride was reaching towards the peak of the Ferris wheel. Sasuke closed his eyes and placed a gentle kiss on Sakura's forehead._

_"I wish we can meet again," he whispered under his breath._

_Sakura didn't expect to be kissed on the forehead. 'What a weird kid?' she thought with embarrassed pink cheeks. Sasuke blushed a bright red and turned away in embarrassment. While his head was turned, Sakura was frantically trying to brush the tomato sauce off her forehead. Sasuke had forgotten to wipe his lips after eating the hot chips._

_As the ride was coming to an end, Sakura could see her brother from a distant._

_"Look, that's my brother. I better go when this ride stops. Nice meeting you." She said._

_As the gates of the compartment opened, Sakura rushed out like a bird set free from her cage. He watched the frame of her back disappear further and further away. His heart ached because he knew this could be his first and last time meeting this girl._

_He watched her skip happily towards the boy with blonde hair; she jumped happily in his embrace. The boy looked like a high schooler and he was still dressed in his uniform even though it was school holidays. He studied the uniform with great detail and swore that he would enter that high school no matter what._

_..._

Sasuke was busy preparing student council activities for the upcoming school festival when Shikamaru burst into the room. The school festival was an annual event to raise money for the upcoming projects in the year. It required students to hold stalls in the school and the main money making event included: a combined concert and drama play conducted by the music and drama club.

"Sasuke I need your help," shouted Shikamaru from the music club, "Shino recently broke his wrist, we need you to be our lead guitarist. Besides with your great looks, we can attract a huge number of female customers!"

"I'm really busy. Can't you find someone else?" He stated annoyed.

"Sasuke brother, aren't you my friend? When a friend is in trouble don't friends help each other?" Asked Shikamaru.

"No." Said Sasuke adamantly.

"Oh ok, do you want me to spread a rumour that the president of the student council wears second hand uniforms?" Shikamaru threatened.

"Everyone listen up-" Shouted Shikamaru towards the corridor.

_Sasuke placed a hand over his friend's mouth to shut him up._

"Fine, but you must not breathe a word of what you just said. I'll meet you at the music room during lunchtime. I have a free period after that so we can practise until the end of 7th period." Said Sasuke annoyed, 'and here I thought friends wouldn't threaten each other.'

...

During lunch time Sasuke was playing with Shikamaru and his band of friends. They chose a very popular song that was a huge hit from four years ago. While they were practising, Sakura was walking past. She stopped near the door of the music room as she recognised the song. It was one of her brother's favourite songs and before he hed died he was a member of a band too.

Sakura touched the door which was slightly opened, for a moment she thought that if she were to push the door, she would be able to see her brother's smiling face. _Too late_, the door opened on its own as someone from the music club had to rush out to use the restroom. Sasuke looked at the person standing in front of the door. Could he be dreaming?

"What? Why are staring at me? Can't I stand here?" Sakura asked coldly.

"Wait, it's ok if you want to stay and watch. We wouldn't mind an audience to give us advice. Our second guitarist will be back shortly." Explained Sasuke.

Sakura nodded. _This won't hurt right._

_Sakura felt really nervous as the copper haired boy continued to stare at her. His 'ogling' eyes sent cold shivers down her spine._

It had been a long time since she had heard the song being played in a band, hence she allowed herself to stay and watch. The whole time the song was being played Sakura was recalling a concert she had attended in the past. '_H__er brother was naturally gifted in playing the guitar, but the band in front of her really sucked.' _She did however thought playing the guitar was really cool but sadly she never got the chance to learn.

"It was ok but you really need to work on your singing." Commented Sakura, she has a tendency to say 'ok' to things she thinks were bad. _No it was horrible._

"Sorry Sakura, I'm just replacing the usual guitarist because he broke his wrist. I'm a little rusty but I know it's no excuse," stated Sasuke.

"What's your name? How do you know me? Have I seen you before?" Asked Sakura curious.

_Sasuke didn't want to remind her of their little past interaction. She seemed to have forgotten, 'thank goodness,' thought Sasuke._

"Ah, I'm Sasuke Uchiha the president of the student council so I have an idea of everyone's name in this school." He lied.

"I see... Nope. I don't think we have met before," replied Sakura who has a very short term memory. She usually does not stare at other peoples eyes, hence she had not noticed the boy in front of her.

'You don't remember me?' thought Sasuke looking hurt.

"Don't worry about it." He said

Sakura decided to build up her courage and study the features of Sasuke. _Hmm. _Sasuke didn't look too bad, in fact he had a nice cool and calm composure. He could pass as being called _'hot' _in the eyes of most girls. He had an average height of at least half a head taller than Sakura. He seemed like a dependable and decent guy if Sakura hadn't caught him staring at her continously.

_Continuously__ checking her out like a stalker, creepy._

"Can we be friends?" Asked Sasuke with all his courage, this was it.

_It was his last chance to reach out to her._

Sakura thought about it for a long time. Her usual answer would be a quick 'N-O!' but she remembered how much courage it had required her to ask Naruto in the morning. She understood how it would feel to be rejected and she was glad that Naruto had agreed to be her friend. Besides, having one more friend was better than having one less friend. She sighed.

"Ok," She agreed unwillingly.

Sasuke blinked twice he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. His prays has finally been answered.

"I like that song but I don't know how to play the guitar." Spoke Sakura out of the blue.

"Would you like me to teach you?"

'No thanks' she had wanted to say but decided to act friendly and said, "ok."

"How can I contact you?" Asked Sasuke delightedly.

_Sasuke was really determined to take advantage of the somewhat friendlier Sakura in front of him._

Sakura passed Sasuke her phone, "Here you can enter your number, when I am free I will call you."

Normally Sakura would never speak to anyone let alone give her contact details out. Ever since her first meeting with Naruto she found a new sense of courage. She wanted to open her heart up just a little bit; perhaps she could start to learn to trust people again. Perhaps she could start to make friends again.

Sasuke smiled happily as he was really glad Shino had broken his wrist. He was really grateful that Shikamaru's father had taught him how to play the guitar. He even appreciated Shikamaru's threat to have pushed him into the band.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 3

Ch 4: Her Secret Past


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: Her Secret Past**

* * *

><p>'Girl's don't like skimpy guys,' thought Sasuke.<p>

Sasuke decided to change the way he acted towards her. Being too friendly and happy may throw her away again. He reminded himself to act calm and above all means he must not touch Sakura. He had never been close enough to study her features do his eyes sort of shifted. His eyes landed on her long, silky pink hair, he wished he could run his hand through it. His hand had lifted without his permission.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

Sasuke quickly grabbed his raised hand, and responded, "I'm fine. Do you think I can ask you a favour?"

"Depends." She replied clearly not wanting to.

"My mother is always busy working; will you teach me how to play the piano in return?"

"Ok." She said uninterested, what she had meant to say was, "Of course not! I have no time for that.'

'I'm allowed to sit next to her in front of a piano, I am truly the happiest man alive.' Thought Sasuke.

He must not let his inner emotions take control he must not let Sakura witness his perverted inner self. Sasuke put on a stoic expression and quickly thought of a plan. He pulled his mobile from his trouser pocket and handed it to Sakura. She took it in her hand and looked at it strangely.

"What is this?"

"It's my mobile. Can I have your number so that I know who is calling?"

"Eh, to be honest I have never used any mobile that isn't a touch screen. Can I just prank your number?"

'God, how can you show her a crap piece of shit like that? She probably thinks I'm super poor now!' He cursed.

Sasuke could not even afford an old mobile such as the one he was using. He had found it on the ground. He had been using the school's sim card, one of his student council privileges. By being the president he needed to make many calls to teachers and possibly some trouble makers.

Sakura gave his piece of junk back to him. Sasuke's skin touched hers briefly and he felt like he was electrified in a good way. His heart was beating very fast while he watched her slender fingers dial his number. If he could cry right now he would, but that would look very uncool.

"I have to head back to class." She said and thought, 'I hope I never see you again.'

"Ok."

...

**The next day after school.**

Today was a special day to Sakura as it was the day her brother had passed away. Usually she would go to the grave by herself but things have changed. She's got Naruto. She was so excited about having made a friend that she had forgotten that he was waiting for her at the school gates. Sakura hoped that Naruto was still there because the last school bell had rung 10 minutes ago. She ran towards the gate in a panic.

There he was standing against the brick wall with his top two buttons opened. He had a broad chest and long legs, he looked like an idol. Was it really alright to walk towards him? His spiky blonde hair flicked outwards a little past his ears. Sakura covered her eyes briefly as the afternoon sunlight had made the ring on his silver necklace flicker.

Some cute girls held out their mobiles to him, they wanted his phone number. She was surprised that he had declined straight away. He then reached inside his trousers to pull out his mobile, which greatly disappointed Sakura. It looked like he was telling the girls to type their numbers into his mobile.

'That playboy Naruto,' thought Sakura angrily.

Her gloomy presence spread a dark aura towards the girls; they quickly walked away as soon as they typed their numbers. Naruto gave a friendly smirk and shrugged, the fact that he was handsome could not be hidden. Sakura was just buying his time; it didn't mean he was her property. _He's mine, death glares to any fans. _He was a free spirit to like and date anyone that he pleased. She sighed.

"You're late," he remarked.

"Yeah," she replied.

"Who is it that you want to show me?"

"You'll see."

Naruto and Sakura walked next to each other in an awkward silence. Naruto walked a step ahead of Sakura because he had a longer stride. She couldn't stop staring at his hand, how she wished he would extend it out and hold hers. Sakura was deeply immersed in a love bubble before it was popped by a passerby.

Sakura noticed that some people were staring at them, some girls even giggled as they walked pass. She also felt some passerby's glaring at her as if to tell her Naruto does not belong to must be laughing inside thinking that the schools hot shot Naruto wouldn't be interested in her. One Naruto admirer purposely bumped Sakura's shoulder and stepped on her foot.

"Ow!" She cried, the sudden impact had caused her to fall backwards.

Naruto grabbed the girl by the shoulder and pushed her a little.

"Apologise and leave," he shouted angrily.

"It's her fault for not looking," the passerby stated.

"I don't usually hit girls, get out of my sight bitch," he said angrily.

Sakura had never seen Naruto so angry, her heart skipped a beat. 'If this was a dream then please don't let me wake up,' she thought. Hovering in front of her was the man of her dreams; she wanted to remain being protected by him. If only he would never leave her and stay by her side.

"Are you ok?"

"Yes."

"Don't let people step on you, ok? If you do, they will keep taking advantage of you and you will be shunned for the rest of your life. You have to learn to stand up for yourself." He lectured.

"I will try."

"Here," said Naruto extending his hand to help Sakura off the ground.

The two walked hand in hand towards the station and Sakura cherished every minute of it. His hand felt so warm, her ice heart was melting more and more. Her heart felt like it was pierced by a cupid's arrow. She didn't want to take a gamble in love, she was afraid that her heart would crumble the moment she opens it.

"Which station shall we go?"

"XXXX station, it's quite far. It's borderline near the countryside."

"That far.." he groaned.

...

It was 3:30pm when they got on the train; the two of them sat closely together but remained quiet. Sakura was lost in her thoughts; she was thinking that there was no way that he could love her. They could hardly pass mere sentences let alone a whole conversation. It was impossible for someone like him to love someone who could not even ask questions. She really wanted to know more about him, in fact she wanted to know everything there was to him, but she couldn't bring herself to ask.

Naruto had a busy day and the long train ride was making him very tired. His eyelids continued to droop and it wasn't long until his eyes closed. His head fell on top of Sakura's shoulder and she could smell the nice shampoo of his hair. She felt really tired too so she lifted his head to place her head on his shoulders, she gently positioned his head on top of hers. She closed her eyes and cherished this moment.

_She was really happy it felt like they were an official couple._

'Please stay like this.' She thought.

They were mere stops away from an interchange station that would lead them to the country link trains but her brief happiness was interrupted by Naruto's phone ringing. Naruto looked at the caller and answered it quickly. He had a very worried expression on his face; it looked like it was from someone important.

"Hi Neji," he answered.

"Naruto, it's me. Can you come to the hospital straight away? It's Hinata; she's woken up from her coma."

"Hinata's awake? I think I can get there within 30 minutes, wait for me."

Naruto looked at Sakura apologetically and said, "I'm really sorry but I need to go see someone very important. Please say sorry to your friend for me."

The train doors opened for people to get off at the interchange station. _He let go of her hand slowly and reluctantly. _Sadly, Sakura and Naruto would be separated to two different platforms. Their paths were intertwined but now it seemed they were both heading towards different directions. The two existed in two totally different worlds, how could she have possibly thought that she could enter his?

A gush of wind blew as his train arrived, when the train disappeared so did he. She felt as if her world was crumbling and she found herself slipping back into her dark oblivion. Once again she was alone, without any family that she could trust, without any friends to comfort her and even the boy she thought she could love had let her down.

...

It was 4pm when Sakura set an alarm on her phone to 4:30pm in case she missed her stop. Her world felt really claustrophobic, her head began to spin and her body continued shivering on its own. Once again, she would be visiting the grave on her own; she wished she hadn't had put her hopes up this year because it made her more miserable than ever. Her eyelids dropped and she fell into a very unpleasant slumber.

Sakura and her brother Deidara loved each other dearly. The two of them had been through many hardships in life and their bond was near unbreakable. Her brother was actually a very depressed individual as a consequence of a miserable childhood. Her brother was like her knight in shining armour, he would always protect her no matter how bad he was treated or so she had thought.

She hated living in the mansion of empty rooms and unapproachable maids. The thing Sakura hated the most in this world was her step mother Kurenai Yuuhi. If there was an award for the world's most nastiest and senile woman, she would win it dead on. Kurenai was indeed a cruel woman who ruined any good memories of a childhood she would have had.

Deidara alone would not be able to conquer the dark infinities of this world. He had Aoi, his childhood friend and source of strength and light. If he was a plant then she would be like his water and light, because without it he would shrivel up and die.

When Sakura was 12, she and her brother were allowed to move into a three storey house. It was the happiest year of her life, but it's ironic that happy things in life never last long. Her brief period of bliss was soon engulfed with pain and sorrow that she could never forget.

_If only she could lose her memory then perhaps she would be a livelier individual._

...

**_Sakura's Flashback_**

_It was a thundering cold night, the clouds were building up and any moment water would begin to fall from the sky. It was also on this unfriendly night that Sakura received news from the hospital that her brother had gotten into a fatal accident. The cold voice informed her that, her brother may pass away any minute from now. _

_Sakura dropped the phone and ran outside without hesitation. The clouds have given up causing a heavy downfall of rain. She couldn't care less about getting wet; she also didn't want to waste her time looking for an umbrella. Her brother was dying and she wanted to be able to at least tell him goodbye before he moved on. _

"_Taxi, I want you to drive to XXX hospital fast, I will pay you good."_

_She found a taxi quickly and hopped on, when the taxi pulled into the driveway of the hospital Sakura chucked all the money in her wallet to the taxi driver and ran off. The lucky taxi driver would be able to finish work early tonight, as Sakura had just given him $1000US for a short 20 minute drive._

_When Sakura had arrived, Deidara had just gotten out of the theatre room. The doctors have done all that they could it was very unfortunate that a big shard of glass had pierced into his face. Deidara's broken body was placed on top of a little bed inside a small clogged up room. 'She hated public hospitals.' His head as well as every other part of his body was covered in bandages, only his right eye, mouth and hands was uncovered. _

_As soon as Sakura saw her brother she cried, "Brother it's me Sakura! Please don't leave me. Please don't ever leave me. I need you. I can't live without you!"_

"_I promise to grow up and never make you worry about me." She vowed._

"_I promise that I would be a good girl and never make you angry." Her eyes became teary._

"_Please, I would do anything for you to smile again." She pleaded._

"_Can you just wake up and tell me this is a really bad nightmare like how you always do?" She begged,_

"_I cannot fight her alone... Who would protect me if you are gone?" She questioned._

"_Why are you so mean? Talk to me! Tell me when I open my eyes everything will be fine again." She demanded._

**_There was only silence._**

_Sakura cried and cried to the faintly breathing unconscious body. It felt like a whole eternity had passed, she continued whaling and screaming. She couldn't control the shaking of her entire body; she just could not stop herself from trembling. For about 3-4 hours, Sakura had been staring at the bandaged body with teary red eyes. At one stage, she tried banging and punching the wall until her knuckles became red. She had to stop this behaviour as some staff warned her that she may have to leave if she continued like this. _

_Suddenly at 4am in the darkest hour of the morning, her brother's fingers flinched. Sakura quickly grabbed his cold icy hand. She was really excited that her brother had moved, she really wanted to hear his voice for the one last time. She would always be able to fall straight asleep after her brother read her a bed time story. His brother had such a gentle soft voice._

**_But the voice she was hearing was very cold and distant._**

"_I'm sorry Sakura, Aoi is calling."_

_The machine monitoring his heart rate suddenly made a very loud-_

_Beeeeeeeeeep..._

_..._

**Beep Beep Beep Beep**

Sakura's mobile rang loudly and it was nearing her stop to get off the train. This particular train station was only a mere 15 minutes walk to the cemetery where Sakura's brother lies. Ironically God likes to play games with Sakura. Like the day before, the thundering started and very soon the rain would start to pour.

Poor Sakura she had forgotten to bring an umbrella.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 4.

Ch 5: The Cemetery Care Taker


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five: The Cemetery Care Taker**

* * *

><p>Outside of the station was a small florist. People who come empty handed to the cemetery would usually buy flowers from this shop. The florist was a business for the dead. The front of the store did not look lively and decorated; the central flower on display was the white chrysanthemum. Sakura walked into the store without any expression.<p>

It was getting late and not long from now the sun would be setting. The sky was already very dark and grey due to the hovering clouds. The wind was beginning to pick up and very soon the temperature would also drop. Sakura looked at all the flowers on display and perhaps it was fate as there was only one bunch of roses left.

The bright red colour reminded Sakura of fresh blood. It was her brother's favourite flower and on every Valentine's Day he would buy a bunch for Aoi and save one strand for Sakura. The shop keeper wrapped the roses quickly as her son would be here soon to take her home. As soon as Sakura had paid and stepped her foot out the door, the shop keeper started packing the flowers in the front away.

Sakura stared at the bunch of flowers, it was wrapped roughly and one stem was sticking out. She tried to poke the rose back in but only managed to prick her finger. Blood began to seep out from her opened wound. Somehow she knew that this would happen but she wanted to feel the pain. This little pain was nothing compared to how much her heart was hurting.

While she was walking a boy on his motorcycle rode past her. Under the masked helmet he recognised the girl with pink hair straight away. She was carrying a bunch of roses and her head was looking downwards. She looked very pale and soulless; he wondered if she was alright. He had always wanted to meet her again, his one and only friend at that cold and horrible place they call a '_mental institution._'

...

The boy parked his bike in front of the florist; he took off his helmet to let out his short spiky red hair. He had a long fringe to cover the side of his round rough face; his long bangs could only hide a portion of the scar on the side of his left cheek. He had a very abusive father, he never liked him and the day his father passed away was the day Gaara started smiling.

"Gaara."

"Yes mother."

"You're finally here, hurry up and help me so that we can get out of here before it starts to rain."

Gaara put his helmet aside and walked up to help his mother pack away the flowers. He grew up with nice features and without the scar he would have had a near perfect face. His scar didn't heal up badly but it wasn't what you'd call attractive. The scar gave him a scary and tough look and he would often be mistaken to be a member of a gang.

Once the shutter was closed Gaara grabbed his helmet and wrapped it around his head. His mother grabbed the second helmet and within seconds they were riding towards the cemetery. The house on the cemetery ground was cheap to rent and close to the flower shop. After school Gaara would also act as a care taker and manage the cemetery ground on a part time basis.

When they arrived home, Gaara was really worried about his old friend. He wondered whether she was heading towards the cemetery. He wondered if it was a good idea to go out and look for her. The cemetery was quite big so it may take him a while to find her, and the possibility of her being gone was quite high.

...

Sakura was nearly there, another 5 more minutes of walking and she would be in front of her brother's grave. Sakura had made sure that his brother was buried next to Aoi because she knew that it was the place where he wanted to lay at rest. She didn't know what happened to Aoi or why and how she had died. All she knew was after her death; Deidara had stopped talking and eventually followed her to the graves.

It was as if history was replaying itself, nature was setting up a re-enactment of that thundering rainy night. Sakura could feel the drops of rain sliding down her long tresses; she walked slowly towards the tombstone and bent down to place the roses. Her body felt numb and she couldn't really notice her cold surrounding. The heavy drops of rain continued to mix together with her endless line of tears.

She stared at her brother's picture; it captured her brother's shiniest smile. The photo was taken on the day Deidara had proposed to Aoi, it was the moment after he had slid the ring on her marriage finger. The picture next to him was Aoi's smile after she had received the ring.

"Are you at a happier place now?" She asked sarcastically.

"I don't want to live anymore," she stated in defeat and dropped onto her knees, "What should I do?"

She couldn't care less of the muddy ground; the heavy shower also had no affect on her. She felt like a lifeless shell. The wind had picked up and twigs were blown about, the roses have now become a crumpled mound. Petals of the roses flew in all directions. Sakura was running a fever and her body became really heavy.

Her stressed body was weak, she felt really anaemic and very soon she gave in to the weather. She wanted to close her eyes and never wake up. Her frail body collapsed onto the black pools of dirt below her. On this icy Winter day, God had no mercy and the rain soon turned into hail. Hard little blocks of ice continued dropping on top of her still body. _The ice built on top of her._

_Sakura usually had a lower than normal body temperature but today her core body temperature was dropping rapidly._

...

It was pouring outside of Gaara's house and it would look peculiar to walk out now. Gaara's mother was busy preparing a simple dinner and she was about to ask Gaara for help when she saw his shadow slip out of the door. She glanced at the window and saw him running in the rain without an umbrella.

"Where are you going in the rain?" She screamed

"I'll be back soon." He replied and quickly put on a rain coat.

Gaara didn't care about getting a little wet, he didn't want to waste anymore time in case she had already left. Although he had **forgotten her name**, he would never forget her pretty sea green eyes and gentle embrace. He thought it was fate that they should meet again and he was not going to let go of this opportunity to find her.

There were three major sections to the cemetery and they include: 1) Christianity with many sub parts 2) Buddhism/Shinto plus sub parts and 3) a non-religious section. The Christianity section was the closest to his house and he didn't want to rule it out because in his memory, he would often hear his friend chant.

**_'God must be punishing me, God must be punishing me.'_**

He had searched every inch of the Christianity section but was unable to find her. He had already lost so much time and now he was hindered further it began to hail and the sun had set. Gaara's surrounding was completely dark and he had no torch. He couldn't use his mobile as the rain was too heavy, his phone would be as good as dead if the water touched it. He was slightly irritated by his wet shoes and the water filled socks that he was now jogging around in.

Gaara tried to think; maybe she had meant the Shinto God. He ran to that section of the cemetery but he had to slow down because he couldn't see well. His luck might be changing as the hail had stopped but the rain was still as relentless as ever. His eyes had adjusted to the dark but a few rays of moonlight helped to guide him. He had searched for over 2 hours now and he was starting to think that she must have left by now.

He reasoned to himself though, roses were quite a unique flower for the dead. Throughout his searching of the two sections he had not come across any living red roses. Perhaps she was in the non-religious section. His memory began to come back to him again, he remembered her words clearly.

**"There is no God, God wouldn't be so cruel to us right, Gaara?"**

Gaara rushed quickly to the non-religious section and fair enough he could see red petals blowing past his face. He slowed down to catch his breath and his eyes landed on a girl facing sideways on the ground. Gaara felt like he was running a fever hence he couldn't imagine what state his friend was in. She looked lifeless and dead, he wanted to prove himself wrong badly. He fell on his knees at once and placed her in his arms.

_Her body was ice cold and her breathing was very faint but she was alive._

Time was really crucial he grabbed the mobile in his trouser and hoped that it was still working. There was no way that he could let an unconscious person ride on his bike, plus it would be too dangerous to ride on slippery muddy roads. He was in luck, his phone was working so he quickly dialled the number of his friend who lived close by.

"Gaara? What's up? You never call me." Asked Yoroi.

"I need your help Yoroi, it's life or death. I need you to drive your car and wait for me at the cemetery entrance. I need you to get here now and I need you to bring a blanket." Commanded Gaara.

"Ok."

Gaara was amazed at how light her body felt, she probably didn't eat well. He carried her in his arms and ran towards the entrance. Yoroi was indeed dependable because as soon as Gaara got to the entrance, Yoroi's car was waiting there for him. Gaara placed Sakura's body gently into the car and pointed to the direction of the small hospital in this town. 'I'm sorry,' he apologised as he began to strip Sakura down to only her underwear. As he was doing so he couldn't help but notice how nice her figure was.

He quickly wrapped her body in the warm blanket that Yoroi had passed him. The hospital was about a 15 minute drive away and throughout the whole trip Gaara prayed, 'God, if there really is a God, then I pray that you won't take her away from me.' Gaara wished he had found her earlier, but all he could do was hug onto her limp body.

...

**_Gaara's Flashback_**

_Gaara's father had always been violent but you would never believe a father who would be so cruel as to hurt the face of his own child. Perhaps it was because his father had always questioned his mother's fidelity. The scar on his face was the reason why they locked his father away and for that he was really thankful. He had initially thought living with his father was a never ending nightmare._

_How he had wished the nightmare had ended there._

_The trauma his father had caused him made him very insane. He started developing an obsession with cutting himself. That was also the reason why he ended up at the mental institution. The institution was not nice; in fact it was a horrible place to end up at. The psychologists there would continuously ask questions and perform tests and experiments on their patients._

_Each patient had their own individually small white locked up cell; it was like an inescapable prison of hell. Gaara had to remain in this dreadful place for close to a year until the doctors could classify him sane again. He hated that place but it was in this dreadful place that he had met her._

_He had always felt alone in this cold institution but this changed when she arrived. She would usually sit far away from him and be engrossed in her own world of bandaging toys, other patients and herself. One day Gaara caught her sweet little green eyes staring directly at him. She started walking closer to him and spoke._

"_Your scar is really beautiful. Can I touch it?"_

"_Ok."_

_After she had touched it, she began to violently wrap Gaara's face with bandages. Gaara was a bit frightened at her impulsive action._

"_Hey cut it out." He cried._

_She began to unwrap the bandage off his head._

"_Look brother, your scar has healed nicely." She said with a smile and danced away._

_The odd couple somehow developed a close relationship. It was funny that whenever Gaara relapsed into a depressed state and sliced himself, the girl would always be there with her bandage to wrap his arm up. He was really thankful to have her there to help him past the time. _

_Once Gaara was feeling really depressed, he couldn't cry, he couldn't scream, he just couldn't do anything but itch. His fingers had a life of their own and he couldn't control them from scratching his forearm. His friend sensed his uneasiness and pain so she came up to him and embraced him. She placed his head on her lap and spoke with a gentle voice._

"_Long long ago there was a sleeping princess; her step mother was a horrible witch. The witch cast a spell on the princess to remain sleeping until one day her prince arrives..."_

_Gaara had fallen asleep and thus was unable to hear the ending._

_..._

When Naruto arrived at the hospital, Neji had told him that Hinata had woken but she soon fell back asleep. The doctors were hoping that she'd wake up again so that they could perform more tests. After a few moments of catching up, Neji needed to head home, he had already spent half a day next to his cousin's bedside.

Naruto sat beside Hinata and held her small soft hand with both his hands. He pressed his head to the side of her bed and prayed, 'Dear God, please let her wake up. I would trade anything if you could help her.' Naruto felt something moving in between his hand, it was Hinata, and she was moving her left hand.

He watched her rapidly twitching eyelids and suddenly they flicked open. She stared at him and he looked back at her. Two beautiful round amethyst eyes continued staring at him, her mouth began to shake and with all her strength she spoke.

"Naruto?"

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 5.

Ch 6: The Ice Queen Relapses


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: ****The Ice Queen Relapses**

* * *

><p>The jolting of the car speeding up and down the bumpy muddy roads was making it harder for Sakura to breathe. Her body had collapsed from hypothermia and now her heart was pumping at a slower rate. When the car finally arrived in front of the hospital, Gaara quickly lifted her and ran towards the emergency unit.<p>

"Hnn." She moaned in pain.

A nurse who saw Gaara's worried state escorted him to a theatre room; she quickly contacted a doctor who was on duty. The doctor rushed in and began to check for Sakura's pulse, her breathing was really faint so the doctor placed an oxygen ventilation mask over her face. He attached some electrodes on her body to monitor her heart rate; the line on the machine was flicking ever so slowly.

Gaara had to wait outside with his wet clothing; the nurse warned him that he could suffer the same fate as his friend. She got Gaara to change into a white patient gown and to wrap himself with a warm blanket. He continued waiting for the lights of the theatre room to flick off. He was waiting desperately for some good news.

Yoroi came up to him and gave him Sakura's wallet which was located inside her skirt pocket. Gaara looked inside the wallet to find her school ID. He ran his fingers over the flimsy card; he pretended it was her face. His beautiful pink haired Goddess.

**Sakura Haruno.**

Sakura's pulse flicked really quickly and suddenly the beeping of the monitor was replaced by one long beep. She was going through a cardiac arrest and this made the doctor very anxious. He and his nurse assistance quickly grabbed the electronic defibrillator to give her heart a shock. They shocked her a few times before they declared her time of death.

The theatre lights turned off and the doctor came out with his head shaking sideways. Gaara stared at him in disbelief; he couldn't accept that his friend was dead. He looked at her lifeless cold body and began to perform CPR on her. During his fanatical state he started thrashing his fists at her chest. He was screaming hysterically at the same time.

"No! You can't leave me!"

"I only just found you, I didn't even get a chance to say hello. How can you, how can you do this to me?" He cried.

"Wake up, Sakura. Wake up!" He demanded.

...

**Sakura's Dream**

_Sakura entered a cold hollow environment surrounded by darkness. Suddenly she could hear a loud strumming of an acoustic guitar. A spotlight appeared and she could see a man with blonde hair. It was her brother and he looked very happy. Another spotlight appeared along with the sound of a sweet melody from a piano, it was Aoi. She also looked very happy._

_She was very tempted to walk towards them; she wanted to know how they were doing. It was so dark where she was standing, she really wanted to walk closer to the spotlights and have a closer look. She wanted to be able to see their faces clearly; as she got closer she noticed something was wrong. Their eyes were hollow; in fact their faces looked as if it was melting._

_She watched her brother's mouth move to produce the words, "Go back."_

_Sakura got scared and stepped backwards; she didn't want to go towards them. The music became very loud and deadly; she blocked her ears and ran the opposite direction. While she was running she could hear someone shouting her name, it sounded like it was telling her to wake up. She closed her eyes and chanted, 'Wake up, wake up, wake up.'_

_..._

After Sakura opened her eyes she managed to get used to her bright surrounding. She wondered where she was and stared curiously at the red haired boy in front of her. He looked like he was crying and his tears slid down his long scar. Sakura ran her hand down the scar and wiped away his tears. Her warm shiny green eyes emitted life back to his dead grey eyes.

"Why are you crying Gaara?"

He was shocked that she actually remembered him.

"How could I have forgotten the friend who left me at that place by myself?" She asked icily.

He didn't know how to respond to her words.

Sakura looked around the room and recognised that she was lying on a hospital bed. She remembered collapsing at the cemetery but she didn't recall seeing Gaara. She wondered what he was doing here; she had not seen him for such a long time. If it weren't for his red hair and scar on his face, she wouldn't have been able to tell who he was.

"Looks like you've summoned me back from my grave." She taunted.

'Who was she, a devil?' thought Gaara, 'Why is she talking like this? Does she hate me?'

"How could I have ever hated you? I should thank you instead. If you had not left I would probably still be there. After you left, I realised I had to wake up from my insanity and move on with my life."

It was as if she could read his mind. He felt a chill run down his spine. He had not seen his friend for almost three years. He did not know what sort of life she went through in those few years; he could predict it was not pleasant for her. Gaara was lucky to have a supportive mother and friends to help him cope but he wondered what sort of support Sakura had.

"How are you?" he managed to mutter.

"I'm alive as you can see."

Gaara felt really nervous, he thought there was something really wrong about Sakura. Her face was expressionless and her eyes wondered off to space. Her cold words pierced his heart; he didn't expect their reunion to be like this. He wondered what had happened to her; he wondered whether she had spoken like this for the past three years.

Her heart felt cold and the icy coating that she used to protect herself with was slowly recovering. She had thought she could open up to Naruto, she had thought she could have opened her heart to him. How wrong was she to even think that? She remembered the ring on his necklace and she recalled how concerned he looked when he mentioned the name 'Hinata.'

She snickered, "There is no such thing as love!"

She sat up and threw the pillow behind her to a wall and repeated, "There is no such thing as love!"

She bent her legs and curved herself into a protective ball and placed her head on top of her knees. Gaara caught the stream of tears rolling quickly down her porcelain face before she retrenched her head. He grabbed both her wrists and separated them from being crossed over her body. He pushed her back forcefully to the bed.

"Don't you have me now? Am I nothing to you?" He asked in an angry but sincere voice.

"Tell me which bastard has hurt you? And I will hurt him a thousand times more than he did you." He said in a serious tone.

He grabbed her long hair roughly and placed her face on his broad shoulder, he wrapped his blanket over her trembling body. He could feel his thin hospital gown getting wet as Sakura wiped her tears on him. His embrace was really warm but her heart felt hollow, she could not feel anything. She didn't believe she could love again; she was unable to return Gaara's warmth.

He held her shaking cold body for the longest possible time and he didn't want to let her go. He made a promise quickly to himself that he would do whatever it takes to heal Sakura's heart. If he required an eternity then he would vow to stay by her side forever. He would do anything to make her smile again, anything to make her love again.

Gaara held Sakura protectively in his arms until she fell asleep; he gently placed her head under the second pillow. He walked across the room to pick up the other pillow and placed it on the chair that he was sitting. He stared at her innocent sleeping face and couldn't hold himself back from placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

...

Far away in a different hospital, Naruto was really relieved that Hinata had woken from her coma. She had been sleeping for almost a year after the accident and he feared that she would remain in her slumber forever. If she never woke up then Naruto would feel guilty for the rest of his life, as he was the reason why she got into that accident.

If Hinata had not risked her life to save his, he would probably not have survived.

Naruto could never understand why his father would leave him and his mother. He had thought his close knit family was near perfect. He was wrong. His father was suffering from depression. Jiraiya was not happy with his life. He used to be a popular rock singer but his popularity dropped when fans found out he was married with a child.

That's what simpleminded fans were like, easily bored and easily swayed away to find another idol. That was the reality of the entertainment industry, there was no guarantee on everlasting fame and idols were easily replaced. Jiraiya found himself sinking into a pit of misery and he couldn't remember from when he had begun to despise his wife and son.

Perhaps it was the moment his mind became blank and he found himself unable to write any meaningful lyrics. His fame sank along with his talent and it wasn't long before Jiraiya began producing crappy songs that nobody would want to listen to. He became easily agitated at anything that displeased him and he blamed it all on his family.

He stopped caring about his family, he stopped talking to Naruto and eventually he stopped coming home. He left with just a simple sentence written on a piece of paper when Naruto was 8 years old. Naruto was the first to find that paper; at first he thought it was a joke but days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. Eventually any news or traces of his father had disappeared into thin air; it was as if he had never existed.

_I'm sorry but I can no longer stay here._ Jiraiya

...

**_Naruto's Flashback_**

_The sea side roads were dimly lighted on this cloudy night. Naruto and Hinata were walking slowly towards the grocery stall to purchase some ingredients for their group of friends. Hinata volunteered to get the shopping and Naruto being her best friend came with her. She was secretly hoping that he would come because she wanted some alone time with him. _

_She wanted to confess to him._

_Hinata was a very shy girl and she had known Naruto since the first day of middle school. Her passive appearance had made herself a target for bullies, but Naruto helped her stand up for herself. Over the years, she fell in love with Naruto more and more. Graduation was coming soon and before they separated to different high schools she wanted to tell him of her feelings. _

_She kept staring at the outline of his figure; his devilish good looks had always made Hinata feel inferior. She never took his kindness for granted and waited patiently for the day he would look at her the same way she looked at him. Except that day never came, he always regarded her as his 'best friend.' He treated her with the same respect as a little sister._

_She didn't just want to stay as his best friend._

_Tonight she saved up all her courage and grabbed Naruto's hand and yelled with her eyes closed, "I have always liked you! Can you be my boyfriend?"_

_Naruto yanked his arm away slowly and turned to face Hinata. Her heart sank; she could tell from his expression, the answer was a 'no.' 'Why?' She asked herself, 'Have I not tried hard enough, had I not been patient enough? Why can't you return my love?' She couldn't hold back the tears sliding down her face; words could not describe the emotional state she was in. _

_She was rejected._

_Naruto wiped away her tears and said gently, "I'm sorry, please don't cry. It's just that the thought of us being together never crossed my mind. I can only picture you as my sister. If I had said yes then I would be lying to you, and it wouldn't be fair for you to have a boyfriend who loves you half-heartedly."_

"_I love you Hinata, but only as a friend, I'm sorry."_

_His words kept repeating on her mind._

_Coming out from the corner shop was someone that resembled Naruto's father. The moment he first saw him, Naruto rushed out of the road without thinking but stopped. His father turned to hold the hand of a little boy who was also holding the hand of his mother. Naruto froze, he could not interpret nor contemplate at what he had just seen._

_Naruto did not look out for cars when he stepped foot on the road. The incoming car driver was breaking as hard as he could but the distance was too close to stop in time. Like a motion film, when Hinata saw the beaming lights of the incoming car, she rushed out and pushed Naruto aside so that the car would hit her instead. _

_She gave up her life to save his._

_Naruto quickly woke from his daze and frantically got up to rush to Hinata's side. The impact of the collision threw Hinata's body two meters away from the car. She landed very hard on her right arm. Naruto stared at the dishevelled and incapacitated body of Hinata and prayed to God that she would make it to the hospital on time._

_The car driver frantically called the emergency unit._

_Hinata was still barely conscious and with her good left arm, she took off her necklace and passed it to Naruto._

"_Keep this for me, it's my father's." She said softly before she fainted._

"_Hinata!" He cried._

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Revised version of Ch 6.

Ch 7: Her First Knight


	7. Chapter 7

**Side Story Time: Naruto and Sakura in the Edo Period**

* * *

><p>Inside Naruto's dream.<p>

Thud.

I seem to have fallen from the sky. Where am I and why are the houses so old? Am I in an ancient part of Japan? Why am I wearing a yukata? Let me push myself off the ground and take a better look. I touch something squishy. I look at it, it looks brownish.

Oh fuck, where is the tap? I need some water like right now.

I don't want to wipe shit on my clothing.

I look towards the end of the street and there seems to be some ships in the outline. I have never run this fast in my life, it is probably because I have shit in my hand and I think it is starting to cake up.

I must run faster!

Yay! I finally made it to the seaside. So hot I wipe the sweat dribbling down my face, big mistake...

Argh shit, I've got shit on my face!

I scrub my hands really hard and fast with the sea water. I sink my head into the water and start scrubbing my face for as long as I am able to hold my breath. I do not dare open my mouth; I wouldn't want shit in my mouth too right?

I dry my hands on my yukata and I flip the bottom layer over my head to pat it dry. I feel a little chill on the top of my head. I start touching my head, it feels very spiky but at the centre there was a little patch of hair.

_No! _

Why? Why must I have this hairstyle? I might as well be all bold. My beautiful blonde hair.

...

I see a crowd of men with the same hairstyle rush towards me. Gosh what is with the fashion sense of these days?

Oh God, I think they have katanas, am I in trouble? I look down. Where the hell is my katana, I can't even defend myself. I'll just bow down on my knees, surrender and hope they will spare my life.

I start to bend my knees but these people beat me to it. Haha! I laugh. What a relief? I guess I'm not in trouble.

"Lord Uzumaki, the Lady of Konoha village is ready to be at your service."

'I wonder what kind of service they mean, hmm... Can it be body service?' I wonder.

"Ok, I'm ready. Take me to her at once."

"Wait Lord Uzumaki, your carriage is coming soon."

I look into the distance to see four little men carrying a small carriage. Wow this is what I call top service! Man, the cabin can be a little bit bigger. It is so cramp in here; I can hardly stretch my legs. The roof is touching my head. I wonder how far the village is.

I think at least three hours have passed. I am so glad that these people are carrying me. They must be running on steroids. Gosh, I can hardly breathe, let's open a window. Aww... the scenery is so beautiful; the trees look like the big version of bonsais.

I can see a big temple like building built on top of a pond. I have never seen anything so stunning. I rub my hands together; Lady Konoha is waiting for me. Maybe she can give me a massage; I think my legs have gone numb.

...

Lady Konoha was just a title given to the most beautiful woman of Konoha village. Sakura Haruno had a unique coloured hair; she also has a pair of exotic jade coloured eyes. The village have chosen this 16 year old girl to be offered to the slimy tyrant Lord Uzumaki this year.

Lord Uzumaki had a taste for young girls and every month on the night of the full moon he would visit this village. Konoha was actually well known for having the cities most beautiful women. The tainted girls used by Lord Uzumaki would then be traded off to the Geisha houses.

Sakura was super poor and her father had sold her off to the Chief of this village. The fat Chief was very excited; he had been worrying about finding a pretty lady for Lord Uzumaki. The days to the full moon came pressing onto the Chief and he had thought this village would suffer at the hands of Lord Uzumaki and his soldiers if no woman was offered.

The last girl offered was too ugly for Lord Uzumaki's liking and he had nearly destroyed their shrine temple. After a month of restoration the temple was finally re-established to its previous glory. Tonight was the night in which Lord Uzumaki would take his sacrificial maiden. The villagers prayed that everything would go into plan.

After Sakura had went through the process of spiritual cleaning she was ready to be dressed. The maids put on an expensive and beautifully tailored kimono designed by the top craftsmen of this village. They tied her obi tightly around her tiny waist. They painted her face all white and coloured her lips rouge red. Lastly they put on a huge black wig on top of her head. She was now ready.

Sakura didn't care about the villagers; she didn't care if they would all die because of her. All she knew was that she didn't want to be dirtied by the evil Lord Uzumaki. After a few hours of contemplation, she decided to drown herself than let her body be tainted.

...

I arrive to see the village people in disarray. What could have happened I wonder?

"Reporting to Lord Uzumaki. According to our intelligence report, the Lady of Konoha had just drowned."

"What? Does anyone know how to do CPR?"

"What is CPR?"

"Let me see her at once!"

...

The body of Sakura was taken to Naruto immediately. The manly instincts of Naruto instructed him to perform CPR with this lady at once. He continued pumping under her chest and breathing air into her mouth until he could no longer continue as he was running out of breath himself. He held onto her beautiful cold hands and shook his head.

A second after his hand had touched hers, she started coughing water up. As she violently coughed out water her black wig fell off to reveal long tresses of pink hair. She gasped for air and suddenly she was alive again. She opened her jade coloured eyes and stared into Naruto's blue coloured ones.

Naruto recognised her face at once.

"Sakura?" He whispered.

**End.**

* * *

><p>Love doesn't happen magically. Love is bitter sweet. Keep reading to find out how it is built!<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

Discarding everything for his love he will even swap his love for hers. Gaara

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: Her First Knight<strong>

* * *

><p>Yoroi had to go home to look after his baby daughter and three other kids. The children only had a grandmother to act as a mother figure but she was growing frailer by the day. Once the children were asleep, he rushed out to the hospital quickly with a spare change of clothes for Gaara. Yoroi had always regarded Gaara as another son to him; perhaps it was his close affection that had caused his father to have become insane.<p>

Gaara changed into the clothing that Yoroi had kindly gotten for him. His face was grim and he did not look happy. He wanted to remain seated besides Sakura but the hospital rules did not allow him to do so. Sakura had to remain in hospital for a check up and the doctor had said if test results came back positive, she was free to go in the afternoon.

Yoroi gave Gaara the wet and dirty school uniform that belonged to the girl that he had just helped save. He received it and thanked Yoroi for all his help of tonight. If Gaara could, he wouldn't have bothered Yoroi, he understood that Yoroi was a busy family man with lots of responsibilities. He was very grateful that Yoroi had never once let him down; he would always answer Gaara's call no matter how busy he was.

"Thank you Yoroi, sorry for all the trouble that I have caused." He said.

"That's ok; I better go its very late now. I'm always here for you." Yoroi replied.

...

It was nearly the last month of Winter and it was still very cold. Sakura's wet clothing included a cardigan and a long sleeved blouse. There was also a skirt as girls usually considered trousers to be a part of the boy's uniform. That night Gaara scrubbed the dirt off her clothing really diligently, he tried to make the blouse white again. He couldn't help himself from studying her _bra size_ as he was still a curious young male.

After that he stared at the clothes dryer that was drying her clothes. It was quite a waste of electricity to be drying a few pieces of clothing but he wanted it to be clean and neatly ironed for her to wear the next day. The warm heat admitted by the dryer and the hypnotic rumbling has caused Gaara to fall asleep on his chair. He had a long, tiring and stressful day, a day filled with many emotions that he had never felt before.

Sakura's mobile was soaked in water when she as on top of the pools of mud yesterday. Any contacts saved in her phone were all washed away with the rain. Gaara had secretly kept Sakura's wallet as a safe guard in case she was to discharge herself from the hospital. When he had awoken it was already past 11 am, he was late for school. He still wanted to go to school so that he could hand in his resignation papers.

_He had forged the signature of his mother's name._

Gaara didn't want to be separated from Sakura and he was determined to apply for her school at whatever it takes. He gathered all the money he had saved in his entire life from working odd jobs here and there, he prayed to God that it was enough to cover his tuition fee at Sakura's high school. He looked out his window and stared at the motorcycle. It was the only good thing his father had ever given to him; Gaara had received it after his father's death.

_Despite his scary looks, Gaara was actually very smart._

...

Gaara had a busy day; his principal was reluctant to let him go. He was a promising kid and the principal could tell from his grades that he would probably be the only student in this crappy school to excel into university. His principal unwillingly handed Gaara his report card and he became a free boy to choose whichever school he wished to be educated in. 'Sigh,' thought the principal, 'going to another school may help Gaara get better grades.'

He rode off in his bike and grabbed a sweet bread from the gas station where he filled up his tank. The bread tasted sweeter than usual, Gaara's happy sentiment had probably caused the change in flavour. He couldn't wipe away the smile on his face; he had never felt so alive and determined to do anything until today.

_Today he had a goal; he must protect Sakura from now on._

He made another stop to the mechanic store owned by his friend Baki. Baki also had a scar on his left face which he covered with a piece of cloth hanging from his bandana. Unlike Gaara, Baki's scar did not heal as nicely, it had in some affect damaged his self esteem. Over time he had grown accustomed to his scar, but gazes from onlookers had always given him a sharp sting to his heart.

The sharp pain to Baki's heart was nothing compared to the pain his girlfriend had left him with. He got this scar because she had quarrelled with the wife of a lead gangster. In order to protect her, he stood in front of her and took the liquid blow she should have taken. He had exchanged his rugged handsome face to save hers, and now his heart rested in ruins just like his face. She had left him to rot in his despair.

Baki was Gaara's mechanic and perhaps the scars on their face constructed an understood connection between their pains. He treated Gaara like a brother and he would always charge him at a discounted student rate. Although Gaara was still under the legal age limit, he enjoyed drinking with his friend who shared the same worries as him. They were like each other's therapist and through the narrative of their story telling, they were able to heal a little.

"What brings you here?" Asked Baki

"I want to sell my bike to you." He requested

"Why the sudden change of heart? I thought you said you would never sell your bike."

"I need the money. How much would you pay me?"

Baki had asked Gaara to sell him his BMW R-1100S to him a year ago, but Gaara had declined. In the past, the bike was his everything and he enjoyed riding without a licence as he was under the age limit. When Gaara got his licence, he would ride for long distances at a time across the countryside. He enjoyed the freedom the bike gave him and the bike was like his wings.

"Your bike is worth much less than it was before but I will buy it off you the same quote I gave you last year. Why do you need so much money?"

"Ok. I found another meaning to life."

"Like what? Is it because of a girl?" He teased.

Gaara blushed and avoided his question.

"I need the bike tonight so I'll hand it over to you tomorrow. Can you please get the money ready?"

"Sure."

...

Hinata collapsed back into her sleep after she had recognised the face she had dreamed to wake up to. Naruto brushed a black strand of misplaced hair away from her face; he placed his big hands on her head and bent down to kiss her forehead. He removed his necklace and placed it around her neck. He stood up and had one last look at her innocent face before he turned to head out for the door.

On his way out, he whispered, "I'm sorry."

_He walked along the dimly lighted hallway of the hospital and sighed._

...

When Naruto arrived back home he wondered if Sakura was alright. Although she had an unhappy expression on her face all the time, Naruto remembered her face looked more hurt than usual when he left her at the station. He sensed her feeling of uneasiness when he let go of her hand. He had wanted to help this broken girl but thought it would be quite impossible now. His life belonged to Hinata now.

When he got home he decided to give Sakura a call even though it was pretty late at night. She was also her boss; if anything had happened to her he would be unemployed. He still needed to get paid from her so it wasn't a bad idea to keep in touch. He hoped she got home alright.

"The person you are dialling is currently unavailable or has his phone switched off. Please try again later."

Naruto tried dialling her number a second time and got the same response. 'Perhaps she is asleep or she had forgotten to charge her phone?' he thought. He felt very tired and it wasn't long before he fell asleep into a mystifying dream. In his dreams he was holding onto a pair of very cold hands, he wanted to warm them up as much as he could, but he couldn't. He tried making out the face of the person he was holding but was only able to see a blurred image.

"Sakura." He whispered in his sleep.

...

Sasuke had stayed up to very late at night trying to build up his courage to call Sakura's phone number. He wanted desperately to hear her voice even if it was just a 'Hello,' and 'Goodbye.' Except he got neither, he got the same reply as Naruto.

"The person you are dialling is currently unavailable or has his phone switched off. Please try again later."

Sasuke tried calling again and got the same response. He thought maybe she was on the phone with someone else so he tried calling her an hour later. He became very agitated and wondered if she had purposely switched off her phone to avoid his calls. Sasuke was probably over thinking the situation and he later decided that her phone was either switched off at night or was out of battery.

Early in the morning, Sasuke woke up to try calling the number again. He got the same reply as the night before. Although annoyed he was also quite relieved that there was no dial. He realised it was 5am in the morning and if the phone hand rang it would've woken Sakura. She would then start to think what a crazy psycho Sasuke was to call so early in the morning. She may even change her number.

...

**Friday, February 2nd, 20XX**

The following day Naruto went to school and was surprised to find out that Sakura was absent. 'Is she sick?' he thought, as yesterday was pretty cold and rainy. He remembered she had only worn a thin cardigan, and her hands felt really cold. He wondered if she had taken the day off because she was sick. He began to worry about her more throughout the day.

'If she was sick, how would she manage at home alone?' He wondered.

When lunchtime arrived an angry copper haired boy approached Naruto and lifted the collar of his shirt. The boy grabbed his shoulder and pushed him hard against the wall, a soft bang was heard when Naruto's head hit the hard surface. Naruto gave his assaulter a death glare and wondered what he could have done to deserve this. He recognised the boy to be the president of the student council.

"What the f..?" shouted Naruto and before he could finish Sasuke had cut him off.

"Where is she?" He demanded.

"Where is who? I've never even spoken to you, you dick." He replied.

"Where is Sakura?"

"What? I'm not her shadow how would I know? And how are you related to her?"

He avoided his questions and demanded some answers, "Her phone is still switched off as of now. What happened after you two left school together yesterday?"

"Huh?" Naruto had only thought Sakura was sick but the thought of her in danger never occurred to him.

"We were on a train ride heading to the country to meet her friend, but I had an emergency so I couldn't stay with her."

"You left a girl in the country all by herself! How could you? What if she got attacked by a psychopath?"

Naruto realised the mistake he had made and prayed that 'Sakura was not in any harm's way.' He decided to skip the rest of school and head to her house. He couldn't understand why his heart was beating so fast, he thought it was from his guilt of leaving her the other day. He wanted to quickly press her doorbell and see her stand in front of him. He wanted to relieve himself from this uneasy tension.

Sasuke really wanted to follow him but if Sakura was indeed at her house, it would look strange for him to be there. They had just merely exchanged numbers, he didn't think Sakura would appreciate that he now knew where she lived. It wasn't like he didn't already know where she lived. Perhaps he could stand from a hidden place and monitor them.

...

Gaara had neatly ironed Sakura's clothing and folded it so that it would fit in his backpack. After some brief catch up with Baki he quickly rode off to the hospital. The closer he got, the more nervous he became. He thought anxiously, 'What if she was not there?' He gave out a long sigh, at least he knew which school she went to, and so it wasn't like he would never meet her again.

He had paid for Sakura's hospital fees; he couldn't care less about the money. His main concern was that she was alive and talking again, the way she spoke could be changed slowly over time. It was very expensive for a patient to have a bed to themselves but he had wanted the best for her. He crept slowly towards the room and pushed the door open.

The bed was empty and the bed sheets were neatly done up. The first thing that differentiated through his mind was that he was too late and that she had already checked out of the hospital. He wondered how she would be able to get home without her mobile to call her family or wallet to pay for transport.

He rushed out quickly to the front desk to find out at what time she had gone.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Inside Naruto's dream was Sakura. Revised version of Ch 7.

Ch 8: The Colour of Friendship


	9. Chapter 9

My angel wings were stripped for you but you easily cast me off to hell without a second glance. Gaara

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight: The Colour of Friendship<strong>

* * *

><p>While Gaara was rushing down the hallway he collided against a patient with long pink hair, he knocked her straight off the ground.<p>

"Ow! Watch where you are going." Sakura yelled as she tried to push herself up.

"Sakura, why are you still here?"

"Of course I'm here! How can I walk on the streets with this stupid gown?"

"Oh..." replied Gaara as that thought never crossed his mind, "here I brought you your school uniform. Here is your wallet, keys and mobile but I'm afraid your mobile is no longer working."

Gaara passed the three items to Sakura. The two continued walking along the hallway so that Sakura could return to her room. She was going to change out of her patient gown and take a quick shower. She stopped midway in front of a bin and Gaara watched in shock as she threw her mobile in the bin without hesitation.

"I'm sure it can still be fixed, some people don't even have a mobile."

"Nah, why bother? I never get calls anyways, none of the numbers are particularly important."

"By the way, I've been waiting for you the whole day! Where have you been?" Sakura asked. "It's already 3:30pm, I'm starving!"

"I had to take care of something at my high school so I couldn't skip it. Didn't they feed you here at the hospital?"

"No, they wouldn't let me eat as it would affect the test results. The nurse said it was past lunch time so I would have to wait until dinner. This cheap place..." Sakura muttered.

"Oh. Sorry this place is the only local hospital we have. How come you didn't stay in your room?" The hospital fees were actually really expensive for someone like Gaara to afford.

"I was bored so I took a look at the back gardens of this hospital."

"I see."

"The doctor said I'm allowed to go home." She stated and then her stomach growled. She looked away feeling embarrassed.

"I'll take you to a nice ramen bar, do you mind riding on my motorcycle?"

"It's been a long time since I've ridden on one but no I don't mind if that is your only transport."

Gaara felt really relieved, Sakura seemed to be a lot more normal than she was the day before. Her eyes were responsive but her words were still harsh, it wouldn't hurt her to add a please. Returning from the dead must have had a strange affect on her the previous night. Personally, he didn't care as long as she ate with him, it would be there first meal together outside of the institution. _A Date?_

"What would you like to eat?"

"Too hungry to care, take me to your favourite restaurant here. I'm just going to have a quick shower."

Gaara listened to the noise of the water sprinkling from the small bathroom; he wished he could be showering next to her.

...

When Naruto arrived at Sakura's house he pressed the doorbell impatiently. He rang the buzzer frantically for a few minutes but he was unable to get any response. He tried calling her mobile but it was still disconnected. He circled the house and was not able to see any windows opened. He did not know whether she was inside of the house or not. Sweat beads formed on his forehead and he didn't know what to do.

Naruto had promised himself that he would check up on Hinata after school today. He had already spent over an hour and half waiting for Sakura. He could not separate his body into two different places and he knew how much Hinata would need him to recover. He was also very worried that her tests results would come out poorly. He picked up his bag and left.

...

Sasuke was allowed to take time off school as a part of his student council privilege. He left school thirty minutes after Naruto because he didn't want to be caught catching the same train as him. It appeared to Sasuke that Sakura was not home because Naruto was sitting on the front porch. Sasuke watched him sit there for close to an hour before Naruto stood up and left.

'Is he meeting up with Sakura?' He wondered, he tried calling Sakura's number but it was still disconnected. 'Nope.'

Sasuke waited there until 7pm and still there was no sign of Sakura or Naruto. His stomach was rumbling as he had not even eaten lunch yet. He decided to go home and give up for today. His legs were aching from standing behind a tree; and he was tired of the stares given to him by onlookers. He picked his bag off the ground and hurried home. _Poor timing... _If only he had waited thirty minutes more.

He punched the tree and cursed, 'I won't forgive you Naruto if anything happens to her.'

...

Hinata rolled over in her sleep early in the morning, something cold was touching the side of her collar bone. Her sleepy hands touched the smooth round object that used to be her father's ring. She had wanted Naruto to keep it but she understood the meaning of why it was returned. She had once told Naruto that the holder of this ring would be her future husband.

She wondered how long she had slept and how old was she now? How much time had she lost? How has Naruto been living? While she had all those thoughts running across her mind, she was relieved that she could feel her legs. She could also feel her arms, suddenly her hands clasped at her face. She touched the skin of her smooth pale face. No scars. 'Phew!' She thought.

Her lips felt very dry so she looked at her bedside table. Fair enough there was a water jug and an empty glass. She turned her body to the left and tried lifting the jug with her right hand but found the weight to be over bearing. Her wrists gave way and the jug toppled over to the ground. She stared at her right hand in shock and wondered if it would remain like this for the rest of her life. She tried lifting the solid glass and brightened a little as she managed to lift it off the table.

She was able to at least put on clothing without assistance.

A nurse arrived shortly to lead Hinata to the place where she would undergo a series of tests. Hinata was also interviewed by the doctor in charge. At the end of the meeting, the doctor explained about the prognosis of Hinata's right hand. He told her some nerves had been damaged during her accident. She could undergo an operation to fix it but there was a risk of losing all ability of the right hand.

Hinata declined straight away and requested the doctor to keep her health report confidential.

Her right wrist could also recover slowly on its own through a series of rehab. Hinata was scared of the idea of losing all function of her dominant right hand. She told the doctor that she would like to go through the rehab option first. After the meeting she sat in her room for an hour just staring at her hand. She tried hard to not cry but one tear slid slowly down her eye.

_She would never be able to play the violin again._

Lunch time came and passed, she only just pecked at the food because she didn't have much of an appetite. She looked out the window and gazed at the beautiful weather, she really wanted to go out and sit under the sun. The doctor had told her to wait until her tests results were cleared. She would have to wait until 3:30pm to get her results.

...

It had been too long since Sakura had gotten on top of a bike. She really liked the look of Gaara's European bike; she thought he had a good sense of style. She didn't know it had belonged to his father. The thought that a country town high schooler could own a motorcycle was actually very absurd.

Sakura had forgotten how to put on a helmet and she was worried that her beautiful long hair would be tangled. It was like Gaara had read her mind as he instantly removed a leather fashion bracelet off his wrist to tie her hair. He gently grabbed her silk like hair and skilfully tied it into a beautiful bun. He usually did his mother's hair so he was well trained.

He plucked a bobby pin off his own hair and pinned Sakura's bangs on top of her head. He didn't want her face to itch because of her fringe. Gaara usually kept many pins in his hair to keep his long bangs in place. Gaara was about three quarters a head taller than Sakura; it was easy for him to slip the helmet over her head. He swiftly tied the helmet clips together.

Brmmm Brm...

Gaara ignited the roaring bike; it jolted forwards so quickly that Sakura's instinct reaction was to grab hold of his tiny waist. A smile formed on his face under the helmet, he had dreamed of the day he would have a female passenger other than his mother. She held on tighter as Gaara increased the speed of his bike. He could also feel her soft breasts leaning against his back.

_He would choose her over the motorcycle._

_..._

Gaara's town only had a small strip of restaurants, he took Sakura inside a small little ramen bar. There was no tables and chairs because of the limited space. There was a long bench in front of the strip of glass fridges that kept the ingredients to make sushi. At the end of the bench there was another room that lead into the kitchen where Iruka's delicious broth of ramen was made. Gaara and Sakura sat on some stools and the menu was placed in front of them.

Usually this place was packed but it was only 4:15pm in the afternoon. There was a special cupboard for Gaara to put down his helmets. Many of the locals that came to eat here were bikers, hence Iruka decided to set up a cupboard with square spaces. The restaurant could only seat a maximum of 12 but most people prefer to order take away.

"This place is ok." Sakura remarked and thought, 'it smells so good in here.'

"This place is awesome. Iruka makes the broth early in the morning. What would you like to order?"

"Whatever."

"Hey Iruka. Two portions of tonkatsu ramen with extra pork and ramen please."

"Hey Gaara, you cheeky bastard. Your first girlfriend, thank goodness! I nearly thought you swinged the other way." Commented Iruka, he called to his other worker "Two tonkatsu ramen please, extra meat and ramen."

Gaara blushed.

"He's not my boyfriend," she corrected him.

Gaara looked sad.

"But... He is a friend of mine," she said.

"Friend? Yes we've been friends since a long ago, hahaha." He tried very hard to laugh, because he was actually very hurt. He didn't just want to be friends; he wanted more, much more.

Sakura was very hungry, she finished the extra large bowl of ramen within 5 minutes, and Gaara thought she was going to choke. 'How can a small girl eat so much in that short of a time?' he thought to himself. Gaara studied Sakura staring at the beautiful pieces of sushi Iruka was making for another customer.

"Iruka, can you make a small plate of mixed sushi for Sakura?"

"Sure." Iruka made a variety of sushi and shaped it into a heart; he winked at Gaara, "On the house."

Sakura thanked Gaara for noticing, his heart was beating faster as he stared at her shimmering round green eyes. She didn't notice the heart shape and continued placing sushi after sushi into her mouth. He had however, finally caught her smile for the first time as she ate. 'I guess food can make people happy,' he thought and sighed.

_If only she could be happy with him. _

Sakura reminded herself and said, "By the way Gaara, give me your bank account number. I don't want to owe you anything. Don't worry about this meal I'll put it on my card."

Gaara nodded, he couldn't argue against that. He was not rich like her.

...

Soon the sky would be dark as the sun was starting to set. The weather was very pleasant and the sky was filled with many white clouds. As the sun continued to lower, the sky was filled with a magnificent cue of purple. After dinner, Gaara had put the helmet on Sakura's head and ushered her to hop on top of his bike. He didn't want to be late to witness a sun set together.

"I want to show you a secret place of mine." He smiled.

"Ok"

"Put this on, it's going to get chilly."

She put on a big jacket which belonged to Gaara. He rode his bike harder and faster up a huge slope; he wanted to beat the clock. Sakura was really frightened but she thought to herself, the most that could happen was death and she had already experienced that the night before. The wind was very cold, she was glad to be wearing his jacket.

The two finally reached the top of the hill with a spectacular look out at a large lake. He parked the bike on the parking bay separating the road. He held her hand and led her towards an outlook post. They sat down on a cement seat and waited for the rest of the sun to set.

"It's a nice view I have to admit."

"It's actually very rare that the sky is purple, I think it happens after a storm. I could be wrong."

"This colour feels depressing."

Gaara sighed, her words was still as cold as ever. He held his hands together and stared at her mouth while she was preoccupied with watching the sun set. He really wanted to kiss her lips. He would even die for just one taste of her deliciously tempting lips.

...

The sun had lowered and very soon it would be 4pm. Hinata had just received good news from all her tests results. There was nothing wrong with her head and all other body functions seemed to be normal except the strength in her right wrist. She decided to clear her mind and take a walk around the beautiful gardens in front of the hospital.

She stepped out of the automatic doors and sensed a newly created freedom. She wanted to go home desperately but the doctor had told her to stay one more night in case she collapses again. Hinata's doctor wanted to make sure she was truly stable before she was allowed to go home. The hospital has already contacted her family and she would be discharged tomorrow if all goes well.

Hinata lowered her head as she noticed a purple butterfly; she watched it land on a bunch of beautiful yellow roses. She looked up at the holder of the flowers and realised he had matching golden locks of hair. It was Naruto and he had arrived to see her. Her heart skipped a beat; it was the first time she had received flowers from him. She wished the colour wasn't yellow though.

_Yellow roses the colour of friendship._

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Ch 9: A Naruto and Hinata Moment


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Nine: A Naruto and Hinata Moment**

* * *

><p><em>Yellow roses the colour of friendship.<em>

Naruto handed the flowers to Hinata and gave her cheeks a kiss. How she wished his lips would land on hers instead, but she understood that even up until now. '_He only regarded her as his friend.'_ The thought pierced Hinata's heart; she really wanted to chuck his friendship flowers and step all over it. After all she had done for him, was this all she deserved?

"It's beautiful thank you," she lied.

"Look I even got you a bumble bee toy," he laughed and added, "If you get lonely at night, you can just hug this to sleep."

'Can I hug you to sleep instead?' She thought.

"Is something wrong? You don't look too good," Naruto demanded and became very nervous so he grabbed onto her arms. He asked slowly and softly, "Did your tests results come out bad?"

"No." She lied again and waved her arms and legs to prove it to him.

"My legs are moving, my arms are moving, I don't feel any pain _at the moment_ and most of all there's no scars on my face. Thank goodness! The results were all positive and the doctor said I can go home tomorrow." She acted happily; she didn't want him to feel guilty. She wanted his love and not his pity.

"That's great; I was so worried for you. If you didn't fully recover, I swear I would take care of you for the rest of my life." He said sincerely.

_Liar!_

"I've fully recovered now does that mean you will still take care of me for the rest of my life?" Hinata tested with a forced smile.

"Let's not get so serious into that topic yet. We'll talk about it again as you monitor your health progress."

_See, you liar!_

'What difference does it make whether I am a cripple or not? You would still leave me once you find the one you love.' She cried in her thoughts.

"Let's get inside and find a vase to put the flowers into some water." He said and stretched out his hand to grab onto Hinata's.

"Wait, dinner's not going to be any time soon. I heard this hospital is built next to an Observatory; can you please take me there? I want to be able to see the scenery below this hill before I leave tomorrow. Maybe I can catch a sun set."

"It's a fair walk; I don't think that your newly recovered body can handle it." He said.

Hinata looked really disappointed.

"What the heck, let's go." He cheered and pulled her hand.

...

The light was getting dimmer and the surroundings were starting to become a dull grey, except Sakura's lips. Gaara thought her cherry tomato lips appeared luscious and ripe against her pale make up less face. He wanted to kiss those lips and taste the fruit of the forbidden tree, but he knew those lips did not belong to him. He still could not control his face from leaning ever so closer.

Sakura stared into the horizon and wondered what life would be like if she was not human. 'Maybe I will reincarnate into an animal in my next life,' she thought.

She watched a rabbit hopping towards its friends and wondered what it would be like if she was one of them. Perhaps she would not need to think and be in so much pain. She sighed as she watched the sun set past the lake and thought, 'every person, every animal and every plant in this world has their own place, where was hers?'

A change in temperature caused Sakura to feel the moist hot air coming from Gaara's mouth. She quickly sprung to the side of the edge of their bench. As if there was a timer for this awkward moment the road lights started to flicker. The lights came on and so did Gaara's mind, he returned back to the cold reality that she could not return his love.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. My mind was lost staring at your beautiful face," he apologised.

"Just don't do it again, ok? I don't know why but you creep me out sometimes. What have I done to deserve your love?" She asked.

"I don't know. It's just a feeling I can't seem to shake off." He replied.

"I can't love you," she mumbled and added, "I can't even love myself. I'm sorry but I cannot return the love you have for me."

_Her words hurt him and if Gaara could block his ears he would._

"Then I will wait for you no matter what. It's getting late; let me give you a ride home."

...

The hike to the Observatory was further than Hinata had expected. She was getting a shortness of breath; she underestimated the health of her newly awoken body. She realised the mistake of her selfish request but it was too late to head back now. She released Naruto's hand to stop and catch her breath. She felt a little dizzy and her right hand couldn't hold the bumble bee anymore. It toppled onto the ground.

"We should head back." Said Naruto as he realised how fatigued Hinata's body had become. He blamed himself for agreeing to let her go on this hike.

"No, I can do this. Please. A little more..." Hinata replied. She could see that the entrance was just a few hundred meters away.

Hinata really wanted to see a sunset with Naruto, '_just once, is all I ask for_,' she thought. They had been walking for about forty minutes and the time was getting closer to 5pm. Very shortly the sun would be setting. She stared at the entrance and ran; she didn't want Naruto to take her back. Her chest felt really tight but she was determined to reach the top of the Observatory.

'_A memory that belongs only to you and me,'_ the thought gave her the courage to charge on.

Naruto ran up quickly and grabbed her arm, "Wait a second ok."

He bent his knees and ushered Hinata to hop on his back. She understood his intentions and obediently climbed on. Hinata was very short and light, she had a very petite figure, and it was perhaps because of her coma that had caused her minute stature. She rested her chin on his broad shoulder and sniffed the nice perfume he had on his neck. This was one of the happiest moments of her life.

_She couldn't stop smiling; she was in a truly blissful state._

Finally Naruto and Hinata had climbed up the steps and reached the top deck of the two storey Observatory building. Hinata jumped off his back at once and gazed at the beautiful scenery ahead. She enjoyed the view of the city sketch and she could see some flickering lights in the distance. The sky had already darkened as she watched the sun slide past the horizon. She jumped up in excitement and was glad she had made it on time.

"Look the sun is setting in the ocean to the far west, can you see it?"

"Yea I can. It looks amazing; I've never seen a sun set before."

_One of Naruto's first? _

Her heart fluttered. As the sun set, she prayed to God that Naruto would one day grow to love her.

"Do you have a pen on you Naruto?" She asked.

"Yea, here." He replied and got one out of his back pack.

Hinata quickly scribbled a message on the wooden planks of the Observatory floor. She stood up and grabbed Naruto's hand to head back to the hospital so that she could eat her dinner. She had written, '_Naruto was here with Hinata xoxo.' _Naruto had wanted to see what she had written but she had pulled him away.

...

When they got out of the Observatory, they decided to plant the roses in the flower bed surrounding the structure as Hinata would no longer be in hospital. Earlier in the day Hinata had called Neji to help her apply for the high school Naruto was in, except she would be in a grade lower. She wanted to be able to be near him often and perhaps make him fall in love with her.

Naruto being the gentleman he was continued to piggyback Hinata all the way back to the hospital. He did not mind at all because she was very light and the hike back was downhill. The only thing that bothered him a little was her bony flat chest. Halfway down Hinata had fallen asleep and dropped the bumble bee, Naruto had picked it up and slipped it in between his back and her chest.

_He wondered what it would feel like to piggyback Sakura. ^.^_

"Hnn..." Moaned Hinata as Naruto dropped her gently off his back and supported her onto her bed.

Hinata's body jerked in a panic when she felt two hands grabbing her thighs. Her hands automatically clutched onto the arm of her intruder. She opened her intense eyes and gazed into the soft pools of blue. Hinata realised it was just Naruto putting her on the bed, her expression softened up.

"Sorry, I thought you were... Nothing. I'm sorry for falling asleep," She stated.

"That's ok I must have frightened you. Your dinner just arrived so eat it before it gets cold." Naruto said.

"Ok."

Naruto watched Hinata peck at the food and it didn't seem like she had any appetite. She tried scraping the food to the side to give the illusion that she was eating. Perhaps it was because of the stress of thinking about her right wrist or the fact that Naruto had just stirred up some locked up emotions that she had tried so hard to forget. Naruto saw how worried Hinata looked so he grabbed the spoon from her hand.

"Here let me feed you," said Naruto spooning some mash potato.

"Naru-" Hinata couldn't finish her sentence as Naruto had already stuffed her mouth with a spoon full of potato.

"You have to eat more! Do you want to stay in a little girl's body?" Naruto expressed his concern.

"It's be-" Another mouthful of food was spooned into her mouth.

Hinata crossed her hands together and placed it over her mouth to prevent Naruto from force feeding her. She really couldn't eat anymore but decided to tease him a little. She grabbed the plate of food and yanked the spoon out of his hands.

Hinata bargained, "If you will let me feed one spoon of food into your mouth. I will eat everything off this plate."

"Sure but you must promise me you'd eat everything."

Hinata nodded and scooped some mash peas and placed it inside the currently opened mouth of Naruto's.

"Oh this stuff is horrible; no wonder you didn't want to eat it!" He choked.

_She smiled, an indirect kiss._

Hinata was in a very happy mood so she fulfilled her promise and ate all the food on the plate.

"Stop it! You don't have to be serious about the promise. The food here is really nasty." He pleaded.

"A promise is a promise," Hinata said and added, "I saved your life right? Would you promise to grant me one wish?"

"Huh?"

"Forget it."

After Naruto had watched Hinata eat every single item off her plate, he asked her if it was alright for him to leave her. His mind was actually split in two directions. He was still worried about Sakura and he really wanted to give her a call. Naruto also felt obliged to look after the girl who saved his life. Hinata smiled and gave him the permission to leave.

"It's ok. I'll be alright for now. Thank you for today. You go and grab some dinner too."

Naruto kissed Hinata's cheek and left. Also left on her cheek was an icy cold feeling.

"He's going to see her isn't he?" She whispered to herself as she could sense that Naruto had an urgent place he wanted to be at.

'Has he already made a girlfriend while I was asleep?' She wondered with tears rolling down her eyes.

...

Naruto glanced at his watch to read 7pm.

He quickly rushed out of the hospital entrance and dialled Sakura's mobile. Her phone was dead once again. He didn't know why his heart was beating so fast; he just wanted to know whether she was safe. It pained him to think that something might have happened to her yesterday because he wasn't there to protect her. There was something about her face that attracted Naruto to her and for one second he wished he had never released her hand.

_Her face seemed to be crying out for love._

Sakura's house was not too far from the hospital and it would only take him 15 minutes to get there by train. He decided to find her even if it meant smashing one of her windows. He really wanted to see her. No. He needed to see her to calm his mind. He ran to the station quickly and hopped onto the next incoming train.

When the train doors opened he squeezed out of the door before it became fully opened. He ran towards Sakura's house without taking a stop to catch his breath. His heart was pounding really hard and his body was extremely deprived of oxygen. He bent his body and pressed his hands onto his lower thigh to support his balance. He ran so hard his head was spinning.

Just as he had arrived, he heard a motorcycle's engine from a distance. Naruto watched the bike enter Sakura's driveway and eventually parked up next to him. He watched the bike owner toss off his helmet to reveal a spiky array of red hair. Naruto studied his face a little closer and realised he had a ghastly long scar. He looked like he didn't have any pupils inside his grey blue eyes. Naruto could only describe him with one word, '_freaky.'_

'But his bike is so nice.' Thought Naruto sidetracked.

Naruto then watched the man help a female passenger off the bike, he helped remove her helmet and Naruto recognised the girl at once. It was _Sakura! _He felt like he could breathe again, thank goodness she was ok but what was she doing with this scary man? The man escorted Sakura towards him, when she shifted her head upwards; she was surprised to see Naruto standing in front of her.

The bike ride home was long and uncomfortable and she tried really hard to not fall asleep in case her grip on Gaara slipped in the process. It was partly true that she was not afraid to die but she didn't want to die in a mess. She didn't need to feel the pain of broken bones and torn ligaments, tissues and skin. Worst yet she didn't want her organs to spill out on the road.

"About yester-" Shouted Naruto.

Before he could finish his sentence Gaara had punched the side of Naruto's beautifully sculpted face. Gaara didn't know what had gotten into him but the fact that this boy had left Sakura to rot in her grave pissed him off. He also hated pretty boys; he wanted to smash his handsome face until it was no more. Gaara gave another punch towards Naruto's nose.

Thank goodness it wasn't broken! Naruto now had a cut on the left side of his lips, his nose was also bleeding. He couldn't respond in time to defend himself as he was not expecting the scary man to be punching the daylights out of him. Naruto gave the man a really dirty glare which infuriated Gaara so much that he had kicked his shin into Naruto's stomach.

_Naruto knelt down in pain and he felt like he could not breathe. _

"That's enough Gaara, could you please just leave." Sakura pleaded with a resentful look.

It was the first time Gaara had heard her use the word _'please,' _she was pleading him for this man. He didn't want her to start hating him, he understood her words perfectly. He didn't want to leave her with him. He didn't want her to like him either, Gaara was jealousy hurt because he knew she was crying for this man the other night. He grunted, grabbed his helmet and left angrily.

"Sakura what happened yesterday?" The injured Naruto murmured.

She wanted to hurt him the way he had hurt her. She wanted him to feel a fraction of how much pain she had felt the night before. She wanted him to feel guilty and apologise for leaving her yesterday. Even more so, seeing his worried face outside her front porch made her want his love and kindness purely for herself. _She didn't want to share. _Everything that belonged to him, she wanted it all.

"I only just went to hell and back." She answered, yet again; her cold barrier had taken control.

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

The red string of fate will tie two people together even if they are separated. Like the two sides of a coin, destiny has already predetermined your other half. You just have to wait your time. Udon

I shall leave you all hanging on this cliff now and not update for a while. I need to plan out how the next section will develop, usually I write two chapters in advance.

Ch 10: The Red String of Fate


	11. Chapter 11

Love, Fate and Destiny are all intertwined. Naruto

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><p><strong>Ch 10:<strong>** The Red String of Fate**

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><p><em>I only just went to hell and back.<em>

_I 'only' just went to hell and back._

The words repeated over and over again in Naruto's head. He didn't really understand the meaning of her words. Did it mean that she had died and come back to life? Maybe the guy called Gaara had saved her from the harms of danger? After that, perhaps that scary looking guy threatened her to submit to some explicit acts as payment, which made her go through hell? He shook his head to throw those dirty thoughts out.

_He felt anger from the thought of another guy touching her. He clenched his fists._

Naruto couldn't explain the feelings that were going through his mind. It was a mixture of guilt, pain, jealousy and relief. Her words had stung his heart and he felt really guilty to have caused her to go through hell. He was somewhat jealous of Gaara for being able to be by her side when she needed help the most. Naruto was also relieved to see her again; he was glad that she was finally standing in front of him.

_If he didn't see her tonight, he wouldn't be able to go to sleep. _

Naruto's pain from Gaara's blow subsided and he got up to reach for her. Sakura coldly brushed past his shoulder and was fixated at unlocking her door to care about Naruto's dishevelled state. She had thought that over time she would forget his name, his face and his gentle embrace. What she did not expect was the fact that he was standing presently in front of her house, _in front of her eyes_.

'_Why? Do you like toying with my heart?'_ She thought and once again she could feel her heart beating faster.

He hastily grabbed her from the back and clasped his arms over her shoulder, his forearms rested on top of her breasts. She desperately wanted to be released from his hold but her body hand a mind of its own. Her arms would not listen to her confused self; her body was controlled by her shaken heart that sent shivers down her spine. Sakura's legs felt wobbly and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

_She could smell his brother's familiar scent of perfume._

Naruto had kept the small bottle of perfume he had found from her toilet. He really liked the smell and for some unknown reason he had thought it would only just go to waste if left inside the drawer. He gently pressed his solid chest firmly to her back to tighten the space between them. The smell made Sakura lose all signs of defence; she could not retaliate from Naruto's warm air on her slender neck. She could not resist his moist breath on her ears.

_She shivered from the sensation caused by his proximity. _

"I'm sorry," he whispered and added, "Can you ever _forgive me_?"

"No." She replied coldly.

Her brain allowed her to respond to his question and with that, the strength in her arms had also returned. She forcefully unclasped his hands and pulled herself away from him. She had wanted to remain in his embrace but her mind wouldn't allow her heart be disappointed twice. She quickly rushed inside her house and banged the door to shut Naruto from her sight.

He didn't want to let her go. He wanted her to forgive him but the fact that she hadn't caused a sharp pain to his heart. He could've forced her to remain in his hold but it was not like she belonged to him. '_Also he wasn't anything to her,' _he reasoned. Naruto frozenly watched her hair slide off from his fingers and fluttered past him, disappearing inside the door. The loud bang made him revert back to reality.

_Bang!_

_Silence..._

His head slumped downwards as he walked miserably away; it was going to be a long night for Naruto, as many emotions that he had never once felt now flooded and preoccupied his mind. When he arrived home he continued staring at his clock in a dumbfounded way. He tossed and turned on his bed and finally towards the early hours before dawn, his eyelids grew heavy and he was able to fall asleep into a pleasant dream.

...

_Inside Naruto's dream_

Naruto stared at his hands and they looked much smaller than usual. The ground also felt much closer than normally, at this moment he realised he had reverted back to his younger self. 5 year old Naruto was young, energetic and always happy with a complete and loving family. He stared into the fields in the horizons of the countryside and remembered his family vocation.

He remembered the happy feeling he got from sitting on top of his father's shoulder and they would play the aeroplane game. He recalled how Jiraiya would hold his mother's hands and gaze into her eyes lovingly. He cherished the times he held both his father and mother's hand; he thought they would remain like this. Like how an inseparable family should be.

_The countryside was truly a beautiful place for the setting of a love story._

The sky was always blue and filled with many fluffy white clouds. On this beautiful afternoon, Naruto decided to take a rest on the soft pastures of green and stare at the birds flying freely with their partner in the long stretches of blue. He could feel the gentle cool breeze blowing onto his shirt, the mellow flapping noises made him feel very comfortable. He gazed at the windmills spinning in the distance and not before long; it had caused him to fall asleep.

_Naruto was heavily asleep until he felt like his face was being attacked! A BEE?_

"OW!" He screamed and looked up.

A little girl had pinched Naruto's cheek, her shadow casted over him and her face was less than a meter away from his. He stared into the sparkling pools of green that reminded him of the colour of the grass he was sitting on. He looked closer into her eyes and he could see his own reflection, he felt like his soul was being captured by her mesmerizingly beautiful eyes. She had a very pretty smile and a laugh that made his little boy's heart flutter.

"You're awake now! YAY!" Sakura cheered and added, "I am very bored can you play with me?"

Naruto realised his left cheek was stinging a little and became slightly angry at what she had done.

"Why did you pinch me?" He asked angrily.

"Because you could probably sleep through an earthquake," she replied and explained, "I kept screaming and yelling but you still continued sleeping, I guess you can feel pain."

"Oh! What do you want from me?" Naruto asked and realised he was a heavy sleeper.

"I want you to play tips with me. This field is so amazing but I don't feel like running around by myself. Good thing I found you now." She said excitedly.

"Hmm? I don't want to. I like lying here. The grass is so soft and comfy," He replied with a naughty smile, he had just wanted to tease her and see her reaction. He rolled over to his side with his back turned to her.

She knelt down and shook his body for a while.

"Come on. Don't go back to sleep. Little kids should be running around."

"Ok fine, be like that. I'm going back home." She turned her head around but was stopped in the process.

_He grabbed her little hand and halted her from leaving._

"No, don't go. I'll play with you. Just don't go yet."

"Oh! Ok. See that field of yellow near the windmills. I want to go there." She declared.

"Ah! It looks so far away!" Naruto complained.

"Oh! Fine then I'll go by myself!" She replied and flicked her hand out of his grasp, he watched her walk away.

"No wait," Shouted Naruto as he quickly chased after her fluttering pink hair and grabbed hold of her soft hands. He added, "Let's go there together, the yellow flowers look kind of interesting now."

_The two little kids laughed and held hands as they walked towards the field of yellow._

_..._

The honey yellow poppies had ripened and filled the plains of the field with a magnificent hue of gold. The blossomed flowers signified that the time of year was early spring and it was also in this time of the year in which many lovers declared their love for each other. The warm weather has a way of encouraging and strengthening people to seek their destined one.

Sakura and Naruto ran around and around in the field of poppies playing the 'you chase me, I chase you' game. The fields were actually a wonderful play field for two little young kids to pass their time. As they had tiny bodies, after they got bored of tips they moved on to playing hide and seek. One kid would count while the other kid ran to find a safe hiding location. When he/she was found the punishment would be an endless amount of tickling.

As the kids became tired they decided to pluck the flowers and throw them around.

Naruto was clever with his hands and he didn't want to let the flowers die and go to waste. He picked up each strand of flower they had broken and wove them together to form a yellow crown. He placed the crown gently on top of her short pink hair and bowed down on one knee. He stretched one hand out and waited for her to place her hands on top of his.

"Your highness, what shall we do next?" He asked.

"Hmm..." Thought Sakura as she stretched out her hands towards his, she looked passed the windmills before her gaze landed on a small little hill.

"I want to go over there and roll down that hill," She declared and pointed with her other arm.

Naruto's eyes followed the movement of her arm and thought it was only a short distance away.

"Shall I piggyback you?" He asked.

"Hmm... yes YAY!" She answered and jumped on his back without a second thought.

_She was heavier than he had expected but he had wanted to see her happy smiling face._

_..._

_The two rolled down the hill happily over and over again._

They were at the top of the hill and the view was very lovely, the flowers blended into a very bright yellow. As the wind blew the green stems of each flower, the yellow field seemed to have a life of its own; it was like the flowers were waving back to the happy children. They both lay on their backs exhausted and watched the clouds shift slowly past. They gave each cloud a name in the process.

"Hmm... let me show you something," she said all of a sudden.

"Today is actually my dog's birthday and my brother gave me this Polaroid camera to take pictures of it," she stated and pulled a camera out of her little pink purse. She added, "I haven't used it yet, can I test the camera on you?"

"Oh. Happy Birthday to your dog!" exclaimed Naruto and added, "How old is he?"

"16 years old."

"16? That old?"

"Yea, he was an old and unwanted dog that I found on the street. It looked like it was dying so I saved it." She replied.

"That's nice of you. About the picture, do you want me to pose?"

"Yea. You stand over there with your arms out like you are flying, while I click this button." She replied.

Sakura took a picture of Naruto in front of the landscape to test whether the Polaroid worked. _Click. _The two waited patiently for the film to develop and Naruto became very excited as he saw his own face appear. He grabbed the camera off Sakura and snapped a picture of her in the foreground of the beautiful scenery behind. _Click. _They both grabbed their little photo and started flapping and running around.

_They were really fascinated by the piece of technology._

"Let's take a picture together," requested Naruto.

"Ok."

"How would you like me to pose this time?"

"Hmm... " She thought for a minute.

"Like those pictures where the kids place their lips next to each other." Stated a naive 4 year old Sakura who had no understanding of what a kiss meant. She didn't have many friends so she had thought people kissing each other represented a sign of friendship.

"Oh, I have seen those pictures in black and white too," replied Naruto.

"Let's give it a try," he further added, "Hmm... perhaps you can close your eyes first. When my lips touch yours, you can open your eyes. Then I will click the button. "

Naruto felt really nervous, he had wanted to try out what he had frequently witnessed his parents do. Whenever his mother was angry his father would kiss her and afterwards she would always brighten up and start smiling and laughing again. He was very curious if this would have the same affect on the little pink haired girl standing in front of him. He held his breath and moved forwards.

_His soft little lips landed gently on top of hers._

_Click!_

"EH! You only managed to capture the lip area. EWWW..." She cried and added, "Let me take it instead, you have to extend your arm out like this. Ok you close your eyes."

Naruto closed his eyes and he felt like he could not breathe even though her lips were yet to land on his. His throat tightened and he could feel his heart beating rapidly as he waited for her mouth to brush against his own. The thrilling sensation caused from the meeting of their lips made Naruto open his eyes very wide and alarmed.

_Click!_

_He couldn't describe the feeling that he had just felt, it had felt so perfectly fitting and magical._

"That's much better," shouted the girl and ran away.

"How wait, I want to see it too."

"Only if you can catch me."

_He couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day as he chased after her._

_..._

Sakura's House

Sakura was scared and confused; she couldn't control the emotional state she was in. She wanted to cry but couldn't as her ice heart have dried her eyes. She knew that she would not be able to go to sleep tonight so she crept up the stairs to the second room of the third level. What lied in front of her was a magnificent black piano, it was a prize that she had received from a competition when she was just 12 years old.

_Yes, you must have guessed it by now. Sakura was a music prodigy._

Throughout the whole night, a sad melodic tune could be heard from the inside of this big, cold and empty house. She played the piano until her hands became tired and numb. Her fingers have stiffened from exhaustion, to the point, where her fingers won't move from her command. She stared at her hands in anger and knocked everything that was placed on top of the piano. During this process a small box fell, and the contents inside poured out to the floor.

_A small little pink purse with a Polaroid camera had landed roughly on the floor._

She decided to leave the room and lie next to her bandaged doll. Whenever she felt alone and depressed, the doll would always be there to comfort her. For many years she had relied on this doll to fall asleep, and quickly and quietly the doll had done its magic trick. _The doll has never once let her down._

_Very soon Sakura was able to fall into a pleasant sleep._

* * *

><p>TBC<p>

Story has been revised.

Let me dedicate this fiction to my loyal reviewer 5511narusaku4eva.

Ch 11: Destiny Waits (Last Chapter)- Will Naruto and Sakura be able to end up together?o.O You must pay a review first.


	12. Chapter 12

There is no formula to obtain love; it is manifested by a mutual feeling. Sakura

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><p><strong>Ch 11: Destiny Waits<strong>

* * *

><p>Whenever Sakura relapsed back to her depressed mental state she imagines her doll to be her brother. <em>Deidara.<em> She had found the doll outside of a 'certain' shop three years ago; it was lying there unwanted so she picked it up. The doll had blonde hair and was male in appearance but its mouth was permanently opened. _FREAKY! _She didn't like the look of its scary mouth so she had covered it in bandages, along with every other naked part of the doll.

_Tonight, she hugged the doll tightly and managed to fall asleep._

"Hnnn." She moaned in her sleep.

...

_**Inside Sakura's dream **_

Sakura found herself inside a car, she was smiling happily and it had felt like she was looking forward to a trip to the countryside with her brother, father and even her step mother Kurenai. It was going to be her first vacation to the beautiful landscapes of the city outskirts for 4 year old Sakura. She stared at the endless fields of green and wished she had gotten permission to bring her dog,_ Kyuubi._

They entered a cosy and well built cottage that belonged to the Harunos. Mr Haruno rarely came home, let alone has the time to take the family out. Yet this countryside holiday was designed to help Kurenai relax as her doctor warned her that any further stress would cause her to miscarry. The family packed their belongings inside the spacious house and were allowed to wonder off and have some free time.

Their cottage was not far from the village border where a small town dwelled. Deidara was about 9 years old and he was holding Sakura's hand like any brother would in a protective and loving way. That was before he had met her, Aoi, she was similar in age to Deidara. Aoi had just dropped her purse and Deidara being the good boy he was, let go of Sakura's little hand to pick up the purse. If there could be such a thing as _love at first sight_, something magically clicked while the two children began conversing with each other.

"Thank you, what's your name? You are not from around here." Aoi stated.

"I'm Deidara, you?" He asked.

"I'm Aoi."

_Love, Aoi, Love, Aoi continued to ring inside his little boys heads. _

"Yes, I'm not from around here, but I like it here already." He replied.

"Would you like me to show you around? I know a lot of cool places." She offered.

Deidara nodded his head in unison, "Yes, please!" Somehow, Deidara had forgotten that Sakura was next to him and he had absentmindedly followed Aoi to tour around the town.

...

A sadness stung Sakura's little heart the moment Deidara had let go of her hand. _It was the first time he had done that._ She shook off those feelings and watched a young boy passed by eating a lolly pop, she wanted one too but when she had turned her head _Deidara was gone._ Aoi had just led him inside a store to look at some cool antique toys but Sakura was not aware of this. She ran quickly to look for her brother with the notion that he could not be far from her. When Sakura became tired she stood in a corner hoping that her brother would find her, but an hour had passed by and there was still no sign of Deidara.

Finally Sakura gave up and decided to head back towards the cottage, she thought that maybe Deidara would be at the cottage waiting for her. He was not there but instead, the dark figure of Kurenai crossed her path. Kurenai stared angrily at Sakura and grabbed both her little arms. Sakura felt really scared, she wondered why her step mother was squeezing her arms so hard, the force really hurt her. The girl knew that bruises would form the next day.

"Where is he?" Kurenai asked angrily.

"Where is who? I don't know, I don't know. Let go of my arms, you are hurting me!" She screamed.

"Where is your father?" She clarified and squeezed her arms harder on purpose.

"I don't know, I don't know. My arms are breaking, let go of me!"

Sakura screeched and flung her arms out of the evil woman's grasp with all her strength. This surprised Kurenai and made her lose control of her hold for a second. This instant was enough for the frightened Sakura to run with all her might towards the fields of green. Sakura did not dare turn her head to look back at Kurenai, in case she was right behind her.

It was very unfortunate for Kurenai as the moment she started chasing after the girl, she tripped over a stone. She took a harsh landing to the side of her abdomen and an unbearable pain spread across her body. Her heart sank as she noticed a dribble of blood sliding past her thighs, she wanted to call out for help but there wasn't a single soul around. She lied there in despair and hoped that someone will find her soon.

...

Sakura was both furious and frightened that her step mother would hurt her, especially when she did not do anything. She wanted to know where Deidara was because she thought that he would know what to do. Tears began to fall down her porcelain angel face and her vision became blurred as she ran blindly ahead. Suddenly she tripped over something; she quickly wiped away her tears and looked down at the beautiful face of a little blond haired boy.

"Hello there," she said and all her worries seemed to have entirely disappeared as she studied the features of the cute boy lying in front of her.

She ran her little fingers across his beautiful glossy blond spikes that reminded her of Deidara's hair.

"Aww... Your hair is beautiful," she stated and placed a finger on his lips, "Hmm... you smile in your sleep."

"Hey wake up, wake up. I want you to play with me," she screamed inside his ears but the boy continued snoring and remained in a heavy slumber.

"Hmm... let me pinch those pink cheeks of yours, hmm... candy," she chuckled and squeezed her hands on his cheeks.

"Oww..." The boy immediately woke up.

"Yay, it worked, you're awake now." She laughed.

Sakura noticed the boy's amazingly sharp cerulean circles and they reminded her of the colour of the sky. His eyes were so warm and clear; she took a step closer and bent her head so that it was centimetres away from his. She could see her own reflection and she became very mesmerised by her own smile, it was the first time in her life that she noticed eyes could reflect images. She hugged the boy instantly and her heart raced in triumph.

"I'm bored, please play with me."

At first the boy was reluctant to play with Sakura but the girl had eventually convinced him with her reverse psychology. The two played tips and hide and seek across the beautiful field of yellow poppies. When they got bored they would lie on the soft pastures and gaze at the beautiful butterflies and stare at the cotton candy like clouds.

"Look a purple butterfly."

"Yea, I see an orange one."

"The clouds look so yummy, I'm hungry." She stated.

"Here, I've got some lollies. It's strawberry flavour." He offered and pulled out some lollies from his little bum bag.

"Thank you. I haven't got anything for you. How about you keep this sticker photo on your goggles?" She asked.

"OK!" He declared and stuck it on the rim of his goggles.

...

Naruto and Sakura were both getting very hungry towards dusk as they have both utilised a lot of energy from chasing each other. Naruto pointed to the direction of the house that his family was staying at, it was not far from the spot where Sakura had found him. The two were walking happily until Naruto decided to walk along a wooden fence. Sakura decided to snap one last picture of him with her Polaroid.

"Smile," She said.

_Click!_

Sakura had just captured a picture of Naruto falling down the fence; the boy was so preoccupied with smiling at the camera that he had misplaced his foot. He landed in a twisted position and his ankle was hurt in the process. He tried to get back on his two feet but his right ankle gave way. There was too much pain for him to use it. Sakura stared at him in shock, she wondered if he needed help immediately. _What if his ankle was broken?_

"Here get on my back. I will carry you back to your Mummy and Daddy." She offered.

Naruto jumped onto her back without a second thought, "Woo hoo..."

"You're heavy! I think my back is going to break."

"Sorry, should I get off?"

"No, I can see your house up ahead. We're nearly there." She announced.

_That evening Sakura joined Naruto's happy family for dinner and it was the best dinner she has ever had in her entire life._

_..._

**Sakura's House**

Naruto awoke from the blazing light of the sun in his face, his head became alert and the dream he had just woken from was still fresh on his mind. He raced quickly to the box that contained all the toys from his past. He couldn't stop his heart from beating and it felt like it was going to pop out of his chest at any moment. He really wanted to find out whether the dream was real or not. He spotted the goggles he used to wear and fair enough on the rim of the eye wear was a sticker of a young pink haired girl. _Could it be Sakura?_

He didn't care if the girl was not her. He got a sudden urge to see Sakura as of this instance and even if she didn't want to see him, he needed to see her. He wanted to find out what happened between her and Gaara. If she really did fall into hell then he would use whatever means to protect her from entering those realms a second time. He ran out of his house in the same clothes he wore the night previous.

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

_BANG!_

Naruto kicked the door to the front of Sakura's house furiously. He had rung the doorbell for over 30 minutes and still she would not open her door. He decided to slam the side of his body to the wooden planks in the hopes that the strong hinges would break. Just when he was about to smash his body to the door it had opened before him. His body toppled on top of Sakura's and she was trapped underneath his weight.

"Good, you finally opened the door!" He shouted.

"What is wrong with you? Get off me!" She exclaimed.

"NO! I won't let you go until you tell me what happened between you and Gaara." He demanded.

"Nothing happened between us, will you get off me now? You're heavy, I can't breathe." Sakura pretended to gag.

Fearing that he was indeed suffocating Sakura, Naruto bounced off her body at once. Sakura quickly got up to her feet and ran up the stairs. She was not going to let this mad man assault her any further. _Why did she even open the door?_ It was too late to falter over what has been done; hence she focused on running towards the top level. She was hoping that she could outrun Naruto and lock the door to her brother's room.

_He chased after her immediately._

Sakura had made it to the third story of the house and was about to turn towards her brothers room prior to feeling the hot air from Naruto's mouth. She quickly turned towards the piano room instead and her hair twirled centimetres from his face. She was about to slam the door but half his body had already entered the room. _Too late!_ The touch of his hand on her shoulder frightened her so much that she fell onto her bottom.

_She landed right next to her Polaroid camera._

Sakura stared at her camera in astonishment and realised her dream was manifested from an actual event from her childhood. Naruto noticed the pink purse lying on the ground; he stared at her camera with the shock realisation that she was in fact the little girl in his dreams. His heart fluttered for a moment and he couldn't control his arms from wrapping around the frightened woman in front of him. She was no longer afraid because his warm embrace actually made her feel safe. Like the pieces in a puzzle, the two fitted perfectly next to each other.

She could feel his hot tears sliding down her neck, Naruto was crying because he had never felt the joy and contentment he was in now. He had finally found something in his life that he had wanted to treasure. His legs were spread around hers in a seated position; his broad chest leaned tightly around her small frame. He grabbed the goggles from his bum bag and showed her the sticker of their past. _The photo that captured their first kiss._

_The prince has finally found his princess..._

Sakura's heart skipped a beat as she slowly turned her neck to face his, she could see her own reflection in his shiny teary eyes. He placed his lips forcefully onto hers; he hungered for the taste of her cherry lips. He didn't give her a chance to retaliate; but she responded without hesitation, it felt like their lips were made for each other. He nibbled onto her bottom lip before sliding his slender tongue into her mouth. She did not deter from the new found sensation he gave her, rather she cherished every moment of it. The two continued locking their lips together until they finally broke away and gasped for air.

"I love you, believe it." He whispered.

...

**Hinata's House**

After lunch Hinata's cousin Neji came to help her pack her belongings and transport her back home. On the way home they decided to go shopping to pick out some new fashionable outfits for Hinata. The two had so much to talk about that they had decided to order dinner before heading to Hinata's home. Neji received a call from a friend as he was about to drop the bags of shopping on her dining table. When he was done talking, he quickly went to the bathroom before leaving Hinata's apartment.

The first thing Hinata did when she got home was to play her violin. She missed playing her sweet melodies whenever she was happy, and whenever she was sad in the past her violin had helped her suppress her pain. It was like she could transfer her sadness to the melancholic sound made by her violin. She waited until she had heard Neji close the door before she picked up her instrument.

_Neji had forgotten his mobile on the table but he had the keys to her house._

As he re-entered the unit, he heard Hinata play squeaky noises on her violin. He wondered why she was playing the way she did. He slowly crept up the stairs of her house and opened the door slightly. He watched her shivering, shaky right hand trying to pull her bow and he realised she was struggling; her hand did not have any strength. He watched her try really hard but the only sound she had managed to bring out was '_high-pitched screeches.'_

_He wished he could help her but he couldn't._

He had always adored his cousin but he knew that some boundaries were never supposed to be crossed. Neji had tried really hard to protect Hinata over the years, but he could not change the fact that his beloved cousin was abused by her step father. _All these years he had loved her secretly. _His heart ached as he watched her throw her treasured violin, the instrument smashed to the floor and broke into two. He remained frozen and knew there was nothing he could do to comfort her. _She needed Naruto._

_Her most cherished violin was broken. Hinata was broken. _

Neji wished he could embrace the devastated Hinata in front of him but he did not. He understood that Hinata would not have wanted him to see her in this state. If she did, she would have told him at the hospital about the condition of her right hand. He left the house in an urgent rush to find the one person that could fix his shattered and broken cousin. _Naruto!_

_Hinata sat on the ground and continued to cry. She stared at the pen knife on her table. She gazed painfully at her right wrist. _

When Neji reached Naruto's house there was no answer so he decided to give him a call. Naruto was not picking up his mobile and this infuriated Neji. Naruto had forgotten to bring his mobile earlier on the day as his mind was only focused on one thing, and that was to see Sakura. _What could that bastard be doing so late at night? _Neji thought.

...

**Five Years Later**

Naruto and Hinata were holding hands as they walked past a girl with pink hair; she had a very beautiful smile. She was holding the hand of a young boy with orangey coloured hair and turquoise blue eyes. The boy was holding a balloon and the two of them seemed to have just come out of a preschool fair. Sakura was too preoccupied at gazing at her own son to notice the two passersby's. Once again, her silky pink hair fluttered across Naruto's face and he had no rationale to grab it, or _perhaps he did have a reason. _

A blizzard of pink cherry blossoms blew between Naruto, Sakura and her son as their paths collided with each other.

* * *

><p>Sakura's kid is in fact Naruto's. Baby names please? After Hinata attempted suicide her wrist actually heals. Too much spoilers. Yes, i will write a happy ending.<p>

**The Last Chapter**

The Seed of Love (Rated M)

Lust is beyond reason; we are all animals to some extent. Naruto


	13. Chapter 13

The ending is here, it might suck, and it might waste your time. I don't know. The choice is yours. This is so friken long that I'm not even going to bother with checking for grammar. WARNING: This chapter contains an explicit sex scene; only mature audience should continue reading.

* * *

><p>Sasuke punches: That's for bashing my usually cool character.<p>

Gaara kicks: That's for putting a scar up my face.

Naruto throws some shurikens: That's for the impossible love between Sakura and me, and now I'm stuck with a kid.

Neji tosses Udon up and down: Fuckin incest, why?

Udon: Dies from violent flames.

Sasuke, Gaara, Naruto and Neji: HAHAHAHA, I think Udon is really burning.

* * *

><p><strong>( M ) The Last Chapter: The Seed of Love<strong>

* * *

><p>"Why are you crying?" Sakura asked and wiped away Naruto's tears.<p>

"I don't know why, I can't explain these feelings," he replied and added, "I feel so happy to be next to you but I'm also filled with dread that this may not last."

"This moment feels like a dream. I am sure when I wake up tomorrow you will be gone." He further added.

Sakura pinched both his cheeks and asked, "Are you dreaming now?"

"Ow. I can feel that." He cried.

"Shall we relive our dreams as grownups?" She asked.

"I don't understand." He replied.

"It's Saturday, let's take a trip to the countryside where we first met." She suggested and added, "Let's take my camera instead of this old Polaroid, I think it is broken beyond repair."

"That's not a bad idea; shall I make us some sandwiches?" He decided.

Sakura nodded her head.

The newly found couple walked hand in hand as they strolled up and down the local supermarket to collect some ingredients to make their sandwiches. They were going to have a picnic once they reached the countryside. Sakura has a family cottage there so accommodation was all settled if they decided to stay overnight.

Earlier on, Sakura had called Zetsu to drive her to the countryside, she ordered him to bring the keys to the cottage from the Haruno pair focused on making their lunch while waiting for Zetsu to arrive.

Naruto smeared some mayonnaise on Sakura's cheeks to tease her and that made her a little angry. She wanted to return his prank, but he grasped her wrists tightly, he licked the mayonnaise off her face and gave her a naughty smirk. He wanted to taste all of her; he stared at her slender white collar as he pushed her gently next to the granite table. He nibbled her neck softly and this sent shivering chills to Sakura's body.

"Stop it," She whimpered and was not used to the sensation he gave her.

"No, you're mine now," he declared but turned his attention on the mayonnaise on her fingers. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable around him. He sucked her slender fingers and savoured the taste.

Naruto stared at her beautiful eyes and it felt like his soul was being captured. He ran his hand along her silky pink hair and was unable to believe that she now belonged to him. It felt like it was too good to be true, he placed his chin on top of her shoulder and prayed silently. _Dear God, please don't take her away from me._

His chest was leaned against her heavenly soft bosom, and he wished he could remain like this for an eternity. He ogled at her supple and generous breasts, his manly instincts tempted him to place his hand upon it, and then he glanced at Sakura with a cheeky look. She responded with a death glare and like an obedient puppy Naruto stopped and frowned.

Their short moment of bliss was soon interrupted by a ringing sound made by the doorbell. Zetsu has finally arrived at the appointed time that Sakura had requested. Naruto packed all the sandwiches and soda in a straw basket and added a picnic rug on top. He followed after Sakura as she reached for the door to greet Zetsu. Naruto smiled and looked forward to their trip.

Sakura and Naruto sat closely next to each other and held their hands tightly in a clasp lock. They watched the scenery through the window change from crowded apartments and skyscrapers to a more suburban outlook of houses. Very soon, the landscape changed to a blurry green as the farms and pastures all moulded into one. There were many cattle and sheep on the fields and the animals made the countryside peaceful and endearing.

Naruto felt really tired and drowsy, the scenery was very hypnotic, and his face slowly fell on top of Sakura's head. His head felt really heavy and uncomfortable on top of hers but she couldn't stop staring at his sleeping expression. Her heart started beating quicker like the first time she had woken up next to him. He was gorgeous and she didn't feel like she deserved him. She gave his cheek a quick kiss and turned away in apprehension.

"Can I really trust you again?" She murmured.

...

**Haruno Mansion**

Grandpa Namikaze was a scientist and he usually stayed inside his lab for many years at a time to develop an aphrodisiac drug. His ambition in life was to create a drug that was potent enough to allow two people to fall in love once they drink it. He had tested his own creation on his daughter but had failed miserably. The product seemed to have turned her husband into a love monster and Mr Haruno became addicted to sex after digesting the drug.

The effects of the drug could not be reversed and hence within years, Mr Haruno had grown bored and tired of Mrs Haruno. Mr Haruno had surrendered himself to the side effects of the drug and sank into a world of lust and desire. Any drops of love he had had for Mrs Haruno had soon disappeared and was quickly replaced by his need for women and pleasures in life.

_Zetsu's Flashback_

"_How is my granddaughter going? Has she found a mate yet?" Grandpa Namikaze asked._

"_The same as yesterday, I have seen her with a man recently. She plans to spend some time with him at the country today." Zetsu replied._

"_I see... Perhaps she and the boy can try out my newly invented 'Love Potion,'" Grandpa stated and gave Zetsu two small bottles filled with a rainbow coloured liquid._

"_I have been working on this project for the last 10 years of my life. Try not to mix the two bottles up Zetsu, the brighter bottle is for females and the lighter one is for males." Grandpa Namikaze added._

"_Are you sure?" Zetsu contested and added, "After what happened to Ms Haruno."_

"_I'm sure; I need to prove my years of hard work. Too bad the last one failed on Deidara. I will pay you well Zetsu."_

"_As you wish." He replied._

Grandpa Namikaze began to laugh wickedly; he was very excited to find out the results of his latest creation.

...

**Country Side**

Zetsu parked the car near the cottage and allowed the young couple to get out, once his task was completed, he drove away to observe them from a far. He smirked and stared at the two little colourful bottles, he wondered what side effects they contained, but nope, he didn't give a dam of what it could do to them. Tonight, he was going to slip this drug into their drinks when they got hungry.

Grandpa Namikaze was willing to pay Zetsu a fair amount and being a gambler he couldn't refuse this offer, it was his chance to pay off his debts. _Love is a gamble_. What has this couple got to lose? If their love was indeed real then perhaps they can overcome the powerful effects of this drug. Zetsu wasn't here to play matchmaker, but if this drug could help them speed things up, why not?

It was around 2pm in the afternoon when Sakura and Naruto had finally stepped foot onto the soft soils of the countryside. Naruto quickly set up the mat and gobbled down some sandwiches. He was so thirsty that he had finished drinking a can of coke in just one gulp. He decided to act lovey dovey by holding a sandwich in front of Sakura's face. She stared at him in confusion.

"What?" She asked.

"I want you to eat this, look I even shaped this sandwich into the shape of a love heart." He said.

"Ok, pass it here," she replied opening up her palms.

"No No. You must let me feed you," he refused.

"No way, that's embarrassing." She retaliated.

"EAT IT," he taunted and started shoving it towards her face.

"Hey cut it out, I'll eat it. Just feed it to me slowly."

"Ok."

Five minutes later.

"I want you to feed me the yoghurt." He requested.

"No way, in your dreams!" She exclaimed.

"Hmm... Fine I'm going home," he stated and got up. Naruto started walking away.

"Wait!" She cried out and grasped his hand and added in a soft voice, "Fine."

"Hmm... since you disobeyed me the first time, you have to say, 'Your majesty please eat this.'" He joked.

"What? I'm not saying that!"

"I'm going. Bye bye."

"Grr... Your majesty please eat this." She grunted and started spoon feeding Naruto.

"Hmm... it's so much tastier when you are feeding me." He responded.

"Let me share some of this with you," He said cheekily and crushed his mouth onto hers with a mouthful of yoghurt.

Sakura gagged and spat out all the yoghurt in her mouth. She shouted, "Fuck what's wrong with you? You are really sick!"

"Then you should know the real me." Said Naruto's devilish side and he pounced closer to a very frightened Sakura.

He breathed his hot air onto her neck and whispered, "Do you regret bringing me here?"

Sakura blushed; she didn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Forget it, let me just remain being your shining knight. I will protect you from now on." He announced and released his hold on Sakura.

He placed both hands on the back of his head and decided to explore the endless fields of green. Sakura felt really strange and her body didn't want to be separated from his. She quickly ran after him and hugged him from behind. She couldn't understand what she was doing, but her body craved the warmth of his. Her arms clasped tightly around his waist and her soft breasts pressed snugly against his back. This sent chills down Naruto's spine and what she said next made his heart tremble.

"Don't go. I like you." She whispered.

He quickly turned his head to face her, he held onto both her silky hands and asked, "What did you just say, I couldn't here you very well?"

"I said. Nothing. I didn't say anything," She replied too embarrassed to repeat herself a second time.

"That's a shame. If you had told me the three little words I would have stayed, but let's just end this country trip. I've had enough." Naruto said frustrated and turned his back away from her.

Sakura hesitated and watched the outline of Naruto's back move further away. She didn't know if she could trust him let alone admit her love to him. If she gave up before she even tried then she would never know. A sudden surge of courage burst within her and that gave her the energy to chase after him. She called his name as she ran.

"NA-RU-TO, I LOVE YOU!" She shouted loud and clear.

Naruto could hear her clearly even though he was 10 meters away. He rushed back to her side and carried her in his strong arms. He lifted her up with his hands and spun her around, until he lost his footing, she collapsed on top of him due to his clumsiness. She gazed directly into his magnetic blue eyes and couldn't stop herself from being fixated to him.

Her cherry lips moved slowly towards his mouth, she couldn't retain herself from wanting to kiss his sexy round lips. He lifted his chin and responded to her sudden outburst, he was excited beyond words; it was her first time initiating a kiss if you take out the one they had when they were kids. He felt the same thrilling sensation as his four year old self. Her kiss was unbelievably sweet and he couldn't imagine what she would be like in bed.

_Sigh... He thought, 'sex will only happen in my dreams.'_

He wanted to savour the taste of her lips; he lifted his chin slightly and wondered if she would open her mouth for him. In response to his gesture, her lips parted slightly, he embraced this opportunity to slide his tongue into hers. Hmm... Her mouth was actually quite stinky from the cheese and ham sandwich, he knew his own was no better, tuna breath. He separated his mouth from hers for a second to grab a mint from his bum bag and quickly popped one in his mouth.

He impatiently flipped her around and forced his lips back onto hers, dropping his mint in her mouth. Their tongues coiled around each other as they yearn fully melted the mint away. He wanted to feel her voluptuous breasts just once, once was all he had wanted to ask for, afterwards he would stop. He cupped her right breast and that sudden move made her feel very uncomfortable. The kissing stopped. Their bodies separated and she eyed him suspiciously.

_Game Over._

"Sorry." Naruto apologised even though he didn't feel like he had done anything wrong.

...

The couple stared at each other for a long time, unsure how to respond to each other. They continued gazing awkwardly at each for a few minutes that must have felt like hours. They both wanted to move their mouths but couldn't utter any words. Naruto felt as if he had crossed a forbidden line and he knew time and patience was necessary for her to trust him. He decided to break the silence.

"Do you have your camera?" He asked

"Yea, it's in my strap bag. Here." She replied and pulled her camera out of her bag.

"Let's take some photos to help us remember today."

"Sounds good."

The love birds were once again able to lean against each other. Naruto had longer arms so he extended it to take a picture of him and Sakura. The duo smiled happily and they took many photos with each other until they got bored. They lay across the green pasture and gazed up at the sky and wondered what life would be like beyond those grey realms.

"The sky is rather grey today." Sakura commented.

"The breeze is very nice though," Naruto stated and added, "Shall we have a nap?"

Their eyelids grew heavy and very soon they both drifted into a pleasant dream. An hour or so later, Sakura woke from an uncomfortable weight that seemed to be pressed on top of her chest, it made it very hard for her to breath. Her eyes opened slowly and she could recognise Naruto's head on top of her bosoms.

"Why you little," muttered Sakura as she clenched her fists and started drilling the sides of Naruto's head.

"Ow... What was that for?" Naruto cried, who had just woken from a very exciting and naughty dream. He was about to insert his male member...

Sakura started slapping his head without any mercy and he didn't want to stay still like a sitting duck so he ran for his life. The pink haired angel chased after him and they both ran until they had no more energy. They both collapsed to the ground and puffed for air.

...

Sakura and Naruto were feeling very hungry from chasing each other around; they didn't have as much stamina as their kiddie bodies of the past. Their cottage was too far of a stroll for their overly exhausted bodies to walk to the restaurant. Sakura decided to give Zetsu a call for a lift to the local village. The couple walked themselves lazily into a ramen joint.

"I love ramen! This place smells great. I'm so hungry." Naruto stated.

"I'm quite hungry too." Sakura replied and added, "What ramen would you like?"

"I love the pork broth one, can you add extras?" Naruto answered.

"Sure. Mister, we would like to order two pork flavoured ramen with extra pork and noodles for both thanks."

"Would you like any drinks?" The waiter asked.

"I'd like an apple juice, how about you Naruto?"

"I'll have the same."

Meanwhile, Zetsu had entered the kitchen area and tempted the chefs inside with a few $100 bills. He assured the chefs that he was not going to do anything to harm their customers. Zetsu drizzled the two bottles of aphrodisiac into the apple juice. He couldn't care if the male drug went to Sakura and vice versa for Naruto. He just wanted to get out of here and collect his money from the narcissistic old man.

Zetsu added a lot of chilli powder and flakes into the bowls of ramen before the waiter took it out to the eagerly waiting couple. This would make sure that they drank up all their apple juice, he smirked. Zetsu watched the teenagers gulp down all their apple juice and cough from the chilliness of their ramens. Job success, hence he did not have to worry about it anymore, what has been done was done. Nothing could reverse it now.

"Urgh! This is the worse ramen that I have tasted in years," Naruto cried, he clearly did not like chilly. He further added, "They must have mistaken the chilli powder as salt!"

"It's alright, I quite like chilli." Sakura commented.

Even though Naruto did not like chilli flavour he ate up every single strand of the ramen, he was not a person to waste food. Sakura only managed to finish half her bowl, she did not feel that hungry.

"The apple juice tasted funny too," Naruto pointed.

"Yea, maybe it's expired."

...

**After Dinner**

Zetsu dropped Sakura and Naruto off at the Haruno cottage so that they could attend to their own business. He drove away to a nearby motel to rest for the night. He wondered what sort of effects the potion would have on their teenage hormones, perhaps they would have an interesting night. He was too tired to care about two foolish teenagers; hence he dozed off to sleep straight after his body landed on the soft mattress.

As soon as Sakura and Naruto entered the cottage the drug was starting to come into effect. Both their bodies felt itchy and hot and a throbbing sensation was driving them both into madness. Sakura stared at Naruto, he gazed back at her. They couldn't stop their bodies from wanting to tangle and mash together, they both yearned for the feeling of flesh on flesh.

He carried her in his arms and placed her on the large queen sized bed. He wanted to stop himself from going any further but something inside of his body was giving the orders. There was no turning back and he knew she would soon be broken beneath him. Naruto couldn't control himself as he smothered her slender neck with kisses, his mouth inched further and further down until it found its way on top of her breasts.

Her white dress was blocking his path to the beautiful pair of sweet pies; he eagerly wanted to taste her marshmallow like wonders. He readily unzipped her dress and slid her sleeves over her shoulders; her dress was thrown onto the floor within an instant. Sakura folded her arms across her chest to hide her nakedness even though she still had a bra on. She had never done such explicit acts and was becoming very afraid. They were moving much too quick to her liking, except the fire inside her body was equally making her crave for the touch of his flesh on hers.

Naruto removed himself away from her and tried to sit on the edge of the bed to give her some space. He wanted to calm his composure except his male member didn't want to listen to his moralistic commands, his lower part wanted to pop out of his pants and attack something, anything, perhaps the delicious lady in front of him.

"Fuck, what is wrong with you Naruto! Get a hold of yourself." He swore.

He slapped his own dick, "I will never forgive you if you hurt Sakura."

"Who are you talking to?" Sakura asked innocently.

"Nothing, I think I should take a walk outside of this house." Naruto declared and gathered all the power he could find to walk towards the door. Except when he opened the door it was pouring cats and dogs outside.

He didn't care about the rain; it might even help with clearing out his sick mind. He couldn't, he didn't want to break her. _It was too early. _He ran out of the door, except he didn't expect Sakura to chase after him. She grabbed hold of one of his arm and shouted.

"It's pouring; I don't want you to catch a cold out there. What if you tripped, no one would find you out here." She shouted and hugged his back against her bountiful chest.

"That's it, I can't take this anymore. Please don't hate me Sakura," he pleaded and pushed his soft lips onto hers. He wanted to feel her lips against his own, he wanted to taste every part of her body, and he wanted to eat her all up. He was filled with greed and desire; he had no more self control to maintain his ethics.

Naruto placed her gently back on the bed that was covered in a white sheet of linen. He didn't want to imagine what would happen to the linen afterwards. He eagerly unclasped her bra and stared at her perfectly round and symmetrical pair of breasts. He tore his shirt off his body and he couldn't control his own fingers from unbuttoning his pants. His male member was very happy, it really wanted to come out and play.

_If Naruto's man hood could speak it would be saying, "That's more like it man."_

Sakura didn't know what to expect, she was now near naked, with just her undies covering her precious innocent area. She couldn't remove her gaze on his solid build; Naruto had a heavenly chiselled torso, and his abs really defined his abdomen. His skin was tanned and rough like a mans, and he was only dressed to his boxers. Her eyes widened as something appeared to be sticking out of his boxers. Somehow she could tell that the thing hidden beneath his boxers was not going to be friendly towards her.

Naruto removed her white undies slowly down her thighs to reveal a few strands of pink hair. His Goddess was pretty much hairless and her genital area appeared bold and smooth like a child's. He wondered if she had a habit of waxing that area but concluded that she was probably naturally void of hair. He studied her opening closer to see if she was ready, he somehow knew that this would be her first experience and he didn't want to rush things.

"Do you trust me?" Naruto asked for permission.

The drug was making her lose any signs of defence and she had effortlessly nodded her head without any retaliation. She didn't know what Naruto was about to do but decided to trust him. She wondered if she could in fact bind his heart, his soul and his body to her if she agreed to the perverse act ahead. She relaxed her body and allowed his big strong arms to spread her legs apart. She watched his head move closely to her never regions, no man has ever been there before.

She could feel his sturdy tongue on her cherry that she herself has never touched. She had no idea of what kind of feeling he could give her but waited with great anticipation. She felt really embarrassed to have allowed him so close to her now unguarded region; she chose to close her eyes and relish the new sensations he was giving her. She felt rippling trembles across her entire body until her back suddenly arched. She couldn't hold back the wonderful stir of ecstasy his tongue had given her. She wanted to break away but he wouldn't allow his tongue to be stripped from his prize until she trembled uncontrollably against his face. He could feel her juice on his mouth and he licked his lips, he was now satisfied.

"Can I? Sakura," He asked hungrily, he wanted his favour returned. Naruto had already slipped off his pants while she was not noticing.

"What, I don't understand." She replied guilty.

"Are you a virgin?" He wanted to confirm.

"I... That's none of your business," She retaliated.

He grabbed both her arms and placed it behind her head and whispered, "Let's find out. I will be gentle on you. Forgive me Sakura."

He plunged his manhood inside her wet opening without giving her a moment to decline his offer. He wanted it and he was getting it, there was no return, she was broken. The instant he entered her, he had never felt so alive in his life. His lower member was very excited and it really enjoyed where it was poking. Naruto's desire was consumed by the passion of the moment and there was no room to regret his decision.

"Ahhhhhh!" She screamed, his sudden action had broken her hymen and that had really hurt her. She really wanted to squirm out from underneath him but his weight remained on top of her. His hands clasped her wrists harder as he began thrusting his member inside her over and over again.

Somehow Naruto had prepared her body to accept his male member, after a few more thrust she couldn't feel the pain anymore. The pain was replaced by a nice feeling and she didn't want to admit it to him. She didn't want him to know that this obscene act actually made her feel good.

"Can you move slower, you're hurting me," She demanded and lied at the same time.

"Only if you say please," he replied.

"Please," she puffed from his overworking of her body.

"That's too bad, because I lied when I said I would be gentle." He said amused.

Rather than slow and gentle, he moved a bit harder and faster inside her but this only made her feel better. He lifted her legs and placed it over his shoulders so that he could thrust even deeper. He really enjoyed the feeling of their connected parts; his manhood had never felt so great in his 16 years of life. The change of rhythm made Sakura moan in passionate squeals of bliss; his long shaft sent shivering chills of excitement all across her body. He was starting to give her similar pulsating sensations like when his tongue was on her clit.

She did the one thing her body told her to do and that was to wrap her legs tightly around his waist. Her legs clasped around Naruto's back in an unbreakable lock, her moaning had turned him on, her intimate gesture of her legs made his member super excited and he couldn't control himself. He wanted to break free but she remained holding him in a passionate angle. His body gave in to his lust and he released his seeds of love inside her. His body shivered in ecstasy and after his tension was relieved, he collapsed on top of her soft breasts.

She gasped and puffed to catch her breath as the orgasm he had given her had made her heart beat extremely fast. She understood why people could get so addicted to these obscene acts, she had to admit it had felt really good and she wouldn't mind doing it again. Doing it with the man that made her heart beat faster. When Naruto laid his head on top of her breasts he couldn't steer away from the temptation of sucking her nipples. Her big luscious pink nipples, while he was nibbling at her womanly treats, he imagined how lucky her child would be.

Over the rainy night, Naruto and Sakura had made love a few more times, until both their bodies were too exhausted to move further. They both fell into a peaceful and heavy slumber. When they awoke it was after lunch time, they grabbed a quick bite before instructing Zetsu to drive them back to the city. The love birds separated for a short while, a couple of days to be exact but who could have guess the fate that was waiting upon them.

...

**Hinata's House**

Neji decided to rush back to Hinata's apartment in case she decided to do something stupid. He couldn't find nor contact Naruto; hence he picked up his courage and decided to look after Hinata himself. _I will continue to love her, even if she cannot accept me_. He thought. He wanted to become the man that could protect her; he wanted to see her smile again. He had loved her ever since a young age, and when her father had passed away, he had vowed to remain by her side for the rest of his life.

He felt a very uneasy feeling as he raced towards his cousin's apartment. Once he finally got there, he unlocked the door as quickly as he could, but his nervousness made him drop his keys. When he got inside, he ran up the stairs to Hinata's room as fast as his legs could carry him. His bad omen was correct and ahead of Neji laid a Hinata with blood across the floor.

Neji checked her breathing and was slightly relieved that she was still alive. He ripped some cloth from his cotton shirt and urgently bandaged her wrists as tightly as he could. He carried her bridal style and ran towards the street to signal for a taxi. Time was against him and he hoped against hope that he would make it to the hospital in time. _Why did he leave her alone?_

There was no time for regrets as the hospital entrance appeared in front of Neji. He carried her quickly towards the emergency department and prayed that Hinata could be saved. Once the light of the surgical room was turned off and the doctors have assured Neji that Hinata was now safe, he began to breathe normally again. The doctor said that Hinata was heavily sedated so it may be a good idea for him to come back the next day.

_Neji punched a wall on his way out._

"I'm going to kill Naruto," he whispered.

...

**Sunday**

Neji had waited in front of Naruto's house until Sunday afternoon before he finally caught the culprit who had messed up Hinata's life. The moment he saw Naruto, Neji couldn't stop his fist from punching the side of Naruto's mouth. He was so frustrated that his knee had a mind of its own, hence Neji shinned his friend in the stomach. Once again, Naruto was crouching on the ground, confused and angry at why people would punch him for no reason.

"Fuck, what's wrong with you Neji?" Naruto asked.

"Hinata's at the hospital again, she tried to slit her wrist." Neji shouted.

"What? Why would she want to die? She just woke up, her life is just star-" Naruto asked but was cut off.

"You ask me fuckin why? Because her wrist got damaged the day she saved your sorry ass." He replied.

"But... She said she was fine." He retorted.

"That's because she is head over heels in love with you and she doesn't want to make you feel sorry for her. I guess she wasn't as strong as she thought, because she fuckin tried to kill herself. Where the fuck have you been?"

"I..." Naruto didn't want to explain himself; his explanation would only make Neji more furious.

"I will go see Hinata at the hospital now," Naruto stated instead.

"Dam right, you will."

Naruto stayed with a fragile Hinata for a day at the hospital. He wanted to make sure that his friend was stable enough before discharging from her stay. Hinata did not have any appetite and refused to eat anything. She didn't want Naruto to see her in this state but a slight sense of triumph and relief was obtained as he sat in guilt next to her. Naruto skipped a day off school to assure Hinata that he was now there for her, until she recovers from her injury of course.

...

**Tuesday**

Sakura wondered why Naruto was absent from school. She had developed the film of the photos they had taken on their country trip. She chose the best looking photo of the both of them and inserted it inside a pretty photo frame. She thought to herself, 'he wouldn't just use her and toss her aside, could he?' She held onto the picture frame tightly towards her chest and smiled as she strode along the hallway.

Her smile soon disappeared and was replaced by a horrid scowl. She couldn't decipher the image of what she was looking at. Naruto was standing in front of her but he was holding the hand of a girl with black hair. He leaned forward and kissed her cheeks. He held her hand so lovingly that Sakura couldn't stop herself from throwing the picture frame towards the ground. Many lines formed on the cracked glass and the picture of the couple was split into two.

Sakura turned and ran without a second thought. Tears were sliding uncontrollably down her delicate face. She couldn't understand how the man she had just given her all would betray her like that. She didn't know what to do, she just continued running and running until her legs could not carry her further. When she got home, she decided to call the principal and announce her resignation from attending school.

_She didn't want to be in the same school as Naruto and her._

The next day, Sakura even moved out of her own home. The beloved home to her and Deidara, how she wished she could stay in it forever, but she didn't want anything left between Naruto and herself. She chose to run away and never see him in her life again. There was nothing left to keep their love together, or so, she had thought.

_Sakura found herself vomiting profusely a few months later._

_..._

**Five years later. **

Naruto was holding Hinata's hand before his attention landed on a small little man. The child in front of him had orangey golden locks of spiky hair and his face was an exact replica of his younger self. He wondered how that was even humanly possible. His heart pumped faster in trepidation even before his eyes rose higher to distinguish the face of the mother of the child. She had long graceful strands of pink hair and her smile could easily melt Naruto's heart. _He knew!_

"Mama, I love you, believe it," said the little boy and added, "Do you love me?"

"Minato, how did you learn that line?" Sakura wondered and replied, "Of course I love you darling, and you're the most precious person to me in this entire world."

He watched painfully as the girl of his dreams walked right past him holding the hand of a little boy he never knew existed until now. Naruto was somewhat jealous of the little kid; he envied how Sakura treated the boy so kindly when she had cruelly tossed him aside. He felt hurt that he was not informed of the existence of his own son, how could she do this to him, he wondered. Yet Naruto was no angel and he had his own baggage. He looked at Hinata and was surprised she had flung his hand off so flimsily.

"Minato!" A little girl shouted from across the road.

Naruto watched in shock as Hinata ran out towards the road and saved a young orange haired girl in the nick of time. Any later a truck would have run over the poor girl and that would have been the end of her short little life. He stared at Hinata in further astonishment, as she rose up and carried the girl in her right arm. Her right wrist didn't look as useless as Naruto had thought. His heart burned with pain as he realised she had lied to him for all these years.

He couldn't look Hinata in the eyes and turned his back on her once again. He ran towards the angel of his dreams, it may be too late to fix anything but only time could tell. He wanted to be there for her. His love for her had never disappeared and for once in his life he had a reason to chase after her.

"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura!" Naruto shouted as he chased after her without looking back.

"Mummy, mummy, I think there's a man calling for you." Minata said and stopped his mother from walking further.

Naruto grabbed hold of Sakura's other free hand and puffed, "Sa-ku-ra."

Sakura couldn't believe she would see Naruto in front of her; she couldn't stop her tears from sliding down her face. She had dreamt of this moment of their reunion for the last few years, she knew it was impossible but a small tremor of hope ignited as she gazed at the handsome man standing in front of her.

"Naruto?" She stammered.

"I will never let you go this time," He vowed and hugged the beautiful woman that has finally reappeared in his life. He let her go and looked down at his son and smiled.

"Hey little guy, what's your name?" Naruto asked and ruffled his hair.

"I'm Minato Uzumaki and I'm not little anymore. I'm four years old!" He declared.

"Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Would you like me to carry you on top of my shoulders?" Naruto asked.

Minato's eyes became watery, he had secretly been jealous of the other kids at his preschool that had fathers who would carry them on their shoulders. He couldn't believe his little ears. He nodded his head without any hesitation. Naruto lifted the light body of the little man on top of his shoulders.

"Hey onii-san, how come you have the same last name as me?" Minato asked while scrunching Naruto's hair. He added, "I really like your spiky hair it reminds me of my own."

Sakura wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist, while his arms were preoccupied with holding onto the little kid's legs. They walked along the path like any other happy family would.

_Hinata collapsed on her knees as she watched the happy family disappear further and further ahead._

End.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue:<strong>

"Hey Minato, when I grow up. I want to marry you." A young Kushina expressed.

"Really? Then let's promise to marry each other when we grow up." Minato replied.

"You promise?" Kushina asked and blushed.

"I promise, believe it," Minato replied and stuck out his pinkie finger to seal his promise to Kushina.

* * *

><p>AN: WOW, it's finally completed. I didn't expect a love scene. They should hurry up and make another baby. Until the next project, thanks for reading, bye. Udon


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